Matthew Mowery
Regional sports editor for Media NewsGroup-MI (Oakland Press, Macomb Daily, MP Morning Sun, and others). My personal account. Email: mmowery@medianewsgroup.com
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
Aside from working on the high school newspaper, working as a stringer while in college.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes. I have one at home, just as a prop.
How is social media changing news?
It is becoming the vehicle for getting the news to the consumer.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Clark Kent.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
Discovering and writing things that people don't necessarily want written. Everything else, as they say, is PR.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Fastball, down the middle.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Camera, notebook, pencils, word processor, laptop, photo processing software, social media.
What's your favorite social network?
Myspace. Because it's dead.
Who do you wish followed you?
Pretty ambivalent about it.
Why did you become a journalist?
Because I cover stories I'd be talking about, anyway.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
Sports writer. Duh.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
The story of a young Clarkston (MI) boy, Ryan Kennedy, who became a trending topic on Twitter before passing away from a brain tumor.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
You must love this, or don't do it.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Any time.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
Don't remember.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
"You cost my son a scholarship. I hope you die."
What's your favorite drink?
Cherry Chuck.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
In front of a TV, or at a game.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
I'll read everything. I think the one I was most excited to get on a routine basis was The National.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That anyone can do it.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.