What was your first job as a journalist?
My first journalism job was the water and sewerage beat for Utility Week, a leading B2B publication.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
No, but I still take shorthand on a notepad, the old-fashioned way
How is social media changing news?
Social media makes everyone a publisher. It shifts the power dynamics, which is really exciting. But twitter is not the world.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
Journalism is a licence to be nosy. It is teasing out tensions, digging the drama, finding life's heroes and villains.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Email. Stroke my ego by praising a recent story I've done on a related topic for extra points.
What's your favorite social network?
Twitter
Why did you become a journalist?
I became a journalist to indulge my curiosity about the world. It's exciting to share that with other people.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
A reporter I worked with got wind of a dinner party between hardcore climate sceptics and scientists. That story really got people going.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
50 shades of sludge treatment. Just - no.
What's your favorite drink?
It depends on the occasion... a pint of pale ale or a refreshing G&T
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
In an air-conditioned, windowless conference hall, sadly. I am always open to more exciting offers...
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
The most common misconception about climate change is that it is an environmental issue. It's so much more - economics, politics, ethics...
