Mandy Miles
Verified
As seen in:
Keys Weekly,
NewsBreak,
Key West Citizen,
Business Post Examiner,
Bahamas Entertainment Daily
Covers:
Key West, FL: City govt, politics, tourism, corruption, education, community, people, entertainment, immigration, business, health care, etc.
Doesn't Cover:
Anything outside of the Florida Keys on mainland Florida. Our coverage is focused on the 125-mile island chain of the Florida Keys.
Author, humor columnist at Key West Citizen newspaper.
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
I was still in high school & college, writing 600-word profiles of kids my age working various summer jobs at the South Jersey Shore. They were published my The Current, a weekly newspaper in Ocean City, NJ.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes. But not for work. I was born in 1976 (I'm 50)
How is social media changing news?
Misinformation is polluting our consciousness. We need a national campaign to teach critical thinking and teach everyone to "Consider the source." And it's our job to BE that reliable source.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
I can't think of any off the top of my head. Maybe Reese Witherspoon's character in The Morning Show. But too often fictional journalists are written as stereotypes by people who clearly don't know the actual day-to-day details of the job.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
Journalists are meant to share accurate, relevant, interesting information about people, communities, issues, events, impacts, changes & challenges. As a 28-year local news advocate & editor, I believe it's more important than ever for us to monitor & question our leaders, and to respect our readers. We must find & share information & enjoyable stories that are relevant to our audience. We must ALWAYS acknowledge & correct our mistakes. And when the truth of an issue lies somewhere between two viewpoints, then we must admit what we don't yet know & present both sides of the critics & supporters.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Email. But ONLY if they're specifically relevant to Key West & the Florida Keys
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
PACER. Court records. Google Drive. Smartphone. Otter ai for meeting transcription. Ground News. Social media. Libby (library app).
What's your favorite social network?
X {Twitter) and I'm still a Facebook devotee, mainly because the people & town that I cover are still mainly a Facebook crowd. Plus, I'm writer & quick reader. I can read a page of text faster than someone in a video can tell me the same info. Plus I don't have to wait to click "skip ad" on Facebook.
Who do you wish followed you?
Carl Hiaasen. Tim Alberta. Diane Roberts. Jon Stewart. Jordan Klepper. The Bulwark.
Why did you become a journalist?
I hated math & science. Just kidding, sort of. I was always the geek who'd prefer an essay test to multiple choice. Since I could hold a pencil, I'd write letters, short stories, essays, profiles & opinion pieces decades before anyone was willing to pay me for them.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
We didn't have a newspaper, so I was yearbook editor.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
My humor /human interest columns originally appearing in The Keys Citizen & now in the Keys Weekly, as I changed papers. They were first called Tan Lines, but The Citizen wouldn't let me keep that title when I left. So now they're called Miles to Go. (My name is Mandy Miles.)
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Your credibility is everything. Always contact anyone whose name will appear in a story. I always tell people, they may not like what I write, but they'll never be surprised by it. And always, always listen more than you speak. I've always & only covered local news in a small island town with a huge global following. Key West, FL is known for Jimmy Buffett, our LGBT inclusion, our Caribbean climate & fierce independence from the rest of Florida. You never know when something that sounds like a small-town, local news story will end up being referenced or linked by a national outlet.
When's the best time to pitch you?
1-4pm weekdays but ONLY if the story pertains specifically to Key West or the Florida Keys.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
"Jimmy Buffett will perform a surprise solo set tonight at his Margaritaville Cafe in Key West. Can you come and interview him after?" (Um...hell yeah.)
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
A man called me (twice) from an actual mental institution trying to convince me that "they" had manipulated his personal data & facial recognition software to charge him with 4 felonies.
What's your favorite drink?
White Claw with ice or vodka/soda/splash of o.j.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Scrolling on my phone.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
The Atlantic
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That local news is boring or trivial.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.