What was your first job as a journalist?
Member of the Editorial Board,
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes.
How is social media changing news?
Social media is completely upending how news is reported, disseminated and accessed. It has also become a maker of news.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Murphy Brown.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
As Todd Gitlin put it recently: "If you are a journalist, it is your duty to disturb." What really informing should do to the status quo.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
I really can't think of any.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
I am never pitched on stories.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Microsoft Word, Gmail, Slack and my phone. Calling people still matters.
What's your favorite social network?
My private Facebook page. It's the best way I have of keeping up with far-flung friends around the world.
Who do you wish followed you?
About 10,000 more people.
Why did you become a journalist?
I didn't really. I'm an editorialist and an author of books.
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?
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
You've got to want to do this more than anything else. It's tough out there.
When's the best time to pitch you?
I don't take pitches.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
I've never been in a position to be pitched to.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
I've never been in a position to take pitches. I make them.
What's your favorite drink?
Good red wine.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Out and about, seeing people.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
The New Yorker.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That our editorials are collectively written by the entire board.
