Kate Rix
As seen in:
MSN,
Yahoo Life,
The Guardian,
The Washington Post,
USA Today,
Yahoo News,
NBC News,
SFGate,
Taylor & Francis Online,
U.S. News and World Report
and
Covers:
Higher education, land conservation, science and medical research, academic research, criminal law.
Doesn't Cover:
Sports, entertainment.
Freelance reporter in Oakland. I cover vulnerable people, equity, education.
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
Writer for City on a Hill, the weekly paper at U.C. Santa Cruz.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes at the college paper.
How is social media changing news?
For the worse. Social media cater to short attention spans and worst impulses. It doesn't foster thought or reflection.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
One of the characters in Lady in the Lake by Laura LIppman, a woman who works in a man's world and is killing it.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
Asking all the right questions and listening. Looking where others might not look. Following your curiosity. Keeping the reader in mind.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Microsoft word.
What's your favorite social network?
My friends.
Who do you wish followed you?
Pattii Smith.
Why did you become a journalist?
I love talking to people about the work they do and then writing about it.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
No.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
I am proud of my coverage of criminal law for the Recorder newspaper, specifically of candidates for judge.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Develop a beat early. With so few staff positions, a journalist will often work freelance. Having deep expertise in a marketable beat is key.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Anytime.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
Writing about problems with academic integrity in online education.
What's your favorite drink?
Gin and tonic.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Reading or hiking in the hills.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
New York Times.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
The ivory tower is a myth. The academic research I write about is inspired by real world problems. Research can hold the key to solutions.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.