What was your first job as a journalist?
Glasgow editor of THE LIST - the magazine about culture in Scotland's central belt.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes - it used to make a terrible racket and even now I bash my laptop keyboard far too hard.
How is social media changing news?
It means news editors can no longer decide what matters most and we get some amazing insights from citizen journalists.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Raymond Rambert in Albert Camus's novel The Plague. He is desperate to leave Oran and return to his wife in Paris but finally realises the city’s fate is tied to him and he joins the band of “health workers.”
What does it mean to be a journalist?
It means being endlessly curious about other people's lives. Being tenacious and never taking no for an answer. Being passionate.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
( relating to the coronavirus lockdown)
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
In an email - one clear and concise paragraph. although I am generally pitching stuff myself rather than being pitched at.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
I use Sadie to edit and mix audio and a mini handbag sized Marantz to record interviews.
What's your favorite social network?
Facebook but I use Twitter as well and Linked In.
Who do you wish followed you?
Followed me where? Sounds intriguing...
Why did you become a journalist?
Because when I was a teenager I went to live in the USSR for a bit and I was fascinated by the disconnect between rhetoric and reality.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
I contributed to a magazine at university called Artbreaks which reviewed theatre and cinema.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
I am very proud of my reporting from Chechnya. It is a hard place to work because interviewees are so vulnerable.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Do as much writing as possible for different outlets. Have a USP and cultivate your contacts.
When's the best time to pitch you?
First thing in the morning when I am at my desk with my coffee.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
Too many to list here but most recently while I am editing From Our Own Correspondent, many fascinating take on COVID 19 worldwide.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
Dealing with rubbish collection in Italy. Actually the Mafia was involved so it was quite interesting.
What's your favorite drink?
That is a tough one ....vodka sometimes. In summer, chilled rose wine.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
I like being on the ground interviewing people and try to spend as little time in the office or at my desk as possible. Running!
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
The New Yorker
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That we have a lot more time and resources to research stories than we do in reality.
