What was your first job as a journalist?
Red carpet reporter for TV Guide.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
It's on my to-do list.
How is social media changing news?
It makes it harder to find the real story and investigate the truth. It's also given a lot of people the false credentials.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Miranda Priestly
What does it mean to be a journalist?
It means you're constantly curious about the world—and the truth.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Email ssingh@playboy.com
What's your favorite social network?
A dive bar.
Who do you wish followed you?
Dave Eggers, if he had a Twitter. Otherwise, .
Why did you become a journalist?
I wanted to find a way to get someone to pay me for writing.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
We didn't have a high school newspaper. People drove their tractors to school, though, and I would have happily reported on that.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
My Deportation; stepping into the shoes of an illegal immigrant and becoming his voice was perhaps the most turbulent writing I've ever done.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Learn how to perfect the nut graf and you'll be able to perfect every pitch. Follow a pub for at least a week before you pitch it.
When's the best time to pitch you?
After 10am and before 4pm PST, Monday-Friday. It could take me up to a week to answer a pitch.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
The same as the worst pitch I ever got.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
A writer once offered to run an experiment on Playboy employee's to see whether mid-day masturbation breaks would increase productivity.
What's your favorite drink?
Tequila or coffee, depending on what time it is.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Wandering the grocery store looking for the gluten-free aisle.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
MEL Magazine, McSweeney's Quarterly, Washington Post, New York magazine
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That Playboy in general is only interested in the porn industry.
