Journalist. Fascinated by change in communities, business and individuals. Innovation. Cities. Jewish world. Real life essays.
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
reporter, The Daily Press, Paso Robles, Calif.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
yes
How is social media changing news?
More people are reading, but it's disrupting traditional print institutions, and in local communities has the potential undermine.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Lou Grant
What does it mean to be a journalist?
Capturing the extraordinary in the ordinary.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
Couldn't say.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
email
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
MacBookAir, digital recorder, iPhone, iPad, Evernote
What's your favorite social network?
Twitter
Who do you wish followed you?
Willy Staley
Why did you become a journalist?
Inspired by Walter Cronkite after JFK was assassinated. I was 11.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
yes. Was reporter and opinion editor.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
A profile for Tablet on Joey Weisenberg.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
What's one story only you can tell. And why now.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Anytime.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
to an editor in the Boston Globe newsroom on the spot, unrehearsed about an itinerant rabbi teaching spirituality across New England.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
I wouldn't know. I ignore so many.
What's your favorite drink?
Depends. A nice vodka. A craft beer, red wine.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Walking dog, running errands, listening to podcasts, cooking.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
The New Yorker
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
People have no clue.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.