Lisa Grainger
Verified
(She/Her)
London
As seen in:
The Times,
Yahoo Life,
The Guardian,
The Telegraph,
The Sunday Times,
The Times LUXX,
Flipboard,
Patch,
Travel + Leisure,
Condé Nast Traveler,
Yahoo Style Canada
and
Covers:
Travel - particularly great journeys with lovely places to stay
Doesn't Cover:
Special offers, entertainment, sales, children's holidays
Traveller. African. Londoner. Cake-lover. Wine-drinker. Editor and writer who is never happier than in a remote wilderness under big skies.
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
Trainee on The Star in Johannesburg; I was sent out on to the streets during the apartheid era and learnt pretty quickly.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes. I learnt on one. My first job was on one. When I started at The Times, several columnists delivered their copy using one.
How is social media changing news?
It gives previously unverified people a platform - giving rise to fake news - but also opens it up to anyone, thereby giving us more options.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Leo Tolstoy
What does it mean to be a journalist?
It's a privilege: to be paid to meet people, talk to them, and pass on their tales. Truth is essential; the best journalists are honest.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
I don't look at funny news-related hashtags. Not my bag.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Email
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Google. Press releases. Phone. I grew up as a traditional news journalist, so the phone and notepad will always be essential.
What's your favorite social network?
Instagram
Who do you wish followed you?
Michelle Obama.
Why did you become a journalist?
I love storytelling. I love the English language. And I recognised that, by reporting the injustices I saw, I could make a difference.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
Yes, I studied in the US when I was 17 and contributed photographs and stories. Previously, I'd got work experience on my city newspaper.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
As an editor, working with writers to make their stories far better - whether that was on The Times, The Times Magazine or Luxx.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Read the publications you want to write for and know them inside out. Check every fact and check it again. Thank people if they've helped.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Morning. I start my day with emails, and I'm fresh. By 11am, I'm tied up either in editing or writing, and my mind is elsewhere.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
Can't remember.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
Can't remember - there have been so many.
What's your favorite drink?
Red wine.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
On my phone.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
The New Yorker; The Guardian; Private Eye
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That I'm always off on some island, sipping cocktails. I often spend 15 hours a day at a computer.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.