Madison Gray
Verified
As seen in:
New York Amsterdam News,
Nature,
TIME,
CBS News,
Flipboard,
Poynter Online,
Yahoo,
Black Entertainment Television (BET),
The Root,
The Journal News,
Ebony
and
Covers:
Urban issues, Urban politics, Politics, Government, Race and Culture, Breaking News
Doesn't Cover:
pop culture, fashion
Former Senior Ed. @BET. Past: TheGrio, EBONY, TIME, AP, NYT, Learning #Blockchain. Native Detroiter, RTs ≠ endorsements. LinkedIn: bit.ly/2DjOz10
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
A $6.50 per hour internship at Automotive News in Detroit. Low pay, but I learned to drive a stick shift.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yeah, I'm old enough to have used a typewriter, old enough to have belonged to a breakdancing crew, but still too young to remember Hendrix.
How is social media changing news?
For the better; it's giving us a more efficient way of gathering and sharing news. For the worse; it's killing the art of reporting.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Winston Smith from "1984". Not a journalist in the traditional sense, but he is what I fear we are all becoming.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
It means calling bullshit on everything...including other journalists when necessary.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
e-mail: mjgmedia925@gmail.com. But please no spam. And PLEASE don't try to sell me a product or service. I can find my own stuff.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
iMac, Olympus DM-10 voice recorder, iPhone, Soundcloud, iPad
What's your favorite social network?
Therapy Wine Bar in Brooklyn. I get way more out of that place than I ever could from Facebook.
Who do you wish followed you?
Barack Obama (probably too busy), Malcolm X (that would be awesome), Joe Klein (best journalist I know personally).
Why did you become a journalist?
Because I got kicked out of my high school trigonometry class. And also dedication to a free society, public's right to know, yadda yadda...
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
Yep, I was editor of the Raven at Benedictine High School in Detroit. I mostly caused trouble and made the nuns anti-First Amendment.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
An interview with Jesse Jackson, Andrew Young, James Bevel and Rev. Billy Kyles, the last living aides to MLK present at his assassination.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Never love your job, love what you accomplish...it's the only thing they can't take from you.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Whenever you've got something worthwhile to say. Time is money, playa.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
Honestly it wasn't really a pitch. When I was in Africa, someone told me about a huge fish haul. It was major news in the village I was in.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
Someone once tried to get me to do a front page story about their grandmother's birthday. It was clear they didn't know what my job was.
What's your favorite drink?
I don't drink.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
On my bike or at the gym.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
Believe or not, I read Detnews.com and Freep.com a lot. I like to know what's going on back home.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That I'm supposed to be people's personal marketing arm or spokesperson.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.