Maureen Meehan
New York
As seen in:
MSN,
MSN Colombia,
MSN Ireland,
MSN Venezuela,
Markets Insider,
MSN Chile,
MSN South Africa,
Yahoo News,
Yahoo Finance,
Green Entrepreneur
and
Covers:
Cannabis-related stories.
Doesn't Cover:
I am flexible
Cannabis editor at Benzinga after years of moving around the world. From Ohio to Berkeley, Mexico, NYC, Ireland, Nicaragua, Chile, Palestine, Madrid and back.
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
Interviewing someone in a language I could not speak...it was a challenge that taught me so much about body language and sincerity.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes!
How is social media changing news?
Positively and negatively, but mostly good if we can all take the time to confirm and corroborate before we press "share" or repeat. 'A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.'
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Fictional journalist? Is that a thing?
What does it mean to be a journalist?
Oriana Fallaci once said (and I am paraphrasing) when interviewing, make important people feel normal and normal people feel important.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
I'm not a hashtag kind of gal
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Email
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Just the computer.
What's your favorite social network?
Facebook
Who do you wish followed you?
Intellectually curious people.
Why did you become a journalist?
Uncontrollable curiosity
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
No
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
Several High Times stories
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Find out where the big story is happening and move there. Ditto for local and domestic. Most important: read, read, read!
When's the best time to pitch you?
Anytime...I get pitches from other times zones, so I am always half awake when most are sleeping.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
Someone asked me interview a person who'd been dead for a week and they were serious!
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
There have been so many...
What's your favorite drink?
Water and a great beer
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Walking, reading, at the gym or on the phone with a friend or family member
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
Too many to name
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
Cannabis is still very misunderstood. People think I am a stoner but I'm actually not!
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.