Lori Falce
Verified- Community Engagement Editor, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
- Community Engagement Editor, Trib Total Media
Greensburg, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh
Community Engagement Editor for Trib Total Media. Because the news is just the start of the conversation.
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
I started as a correspondent covering local government when I was 16.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
This feels like a personal attack. Of course I used a typewriter. I got my own as a high school graduation present.
How is social media changing news?
Social media is a growing competition for news media, a valuable tool to disseminate news and a resource to use and be skeptical of.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Will McAvoy, "The Newsroom."
What does it mean to be a journalist?
We have an obligation to inform the people by questioning and challenging the voices of power.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Honestly, I prefer unsolicited emails unless we already have a relationship where we can talk about it ahead of time.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Just the basics. Computer, internet, content management, social media. And the ever-present steno pad and pen.
What's your favorite social network?
I use Facebook more than anything.
Who do you wish followed you?
The U.S. Supreme Court.
Why did you become a journalist?
My high school journalism teacher volunteered me as a stringer. I basically still have my afterschool job.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
I edited my high school newspaper. I also edited a monthly page of high school news in a paper where I was later on staff.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
I am particularly proud of my work on the detention of Pennsylvania teacher Marc Fogel in Russia.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Look at every assignment as an opportunity to educate yourself about the topic.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Midday. Morning emails get buried.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
A gentleman contacted me after the Catholic church grand jury in PA, volunteering a column. He ended up doing a very brave video.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
A 1-inch thick envelope stuffed with highlighted conspiracy theories.
What's your favorite drink?
The amount of Pepsi I drink at my desk is staggering.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
I'm allowed to be somewhere else?
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
Los Angeles Times.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
I write opinion. That does not mean that I express bias so much as judgment. They are not the same.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
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