What was your first job as a journalist?
My first published photo appeared in the New York Times Sunday Magazine during the early 1980s, while I was still in college.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes, of course. I learned to type on a Royal manual typewriter.
How is social media changing news?
Social media enables everyone to share views and experiences. But, it also has produced a glut of information.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Clark Kent, of course!
What does it mean to be a journalist?
To seek and present the truth for readers.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
, which many people believed that Cher had died.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Email or phone will do.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
A Fujifilm camera and MS Word.
What's your favorite social network?
Instagram, primarily because photography is my first love.
Who do you wish followed you?
Doesn't matter to me.
Why did you become a journalist?
It allows me to work remotely.
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?
A story for The Guardian, because it was about my own misadventure.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Write about what you know and love. Never give up.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Any time of day.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
To take surreptitious photos of Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley. I turned it down, because the proposed method sounded unethical.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
Probably something that promised exposure, but no money.
What's your favorite drink?
Wine
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Working in my garden.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
The New Yorker
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That it is all dangerous.
