Philip Churm
England
Journalist. Now to be found at @thechurm.bsky.social
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
BBC
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes (that's how old I am!)
How is social media changing news?
It can be democratising and accessible but can sometimes create a pool of homogeneous titbits rather than a diversity of information.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
The one I have yet to create in semi-autobiographical novel I haven't yet written.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
Holding people in authority to account.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Computer, camera, digital audio recorder
What's your favorite social network?
Instagram or Mastodon
Why did you become a journalist?
I love finding things out that other people don't know and then telling those people.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
No. We didn't have one
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Repeating information you have collected or been given without questioning the sources is not journalism.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Breakfast time
What's your favorite drink?
Coffee, beer, single malt whisky (not at the same time)
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Kitchen
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
Any broadsheet
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That journalists lie and are only ot for themselves
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.