What was your first job as a journalist?
A story about my ex-cat, Bud, for the Bristol Evening Post.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes. Back then I was hunt-and-peck. My fingers sometimes sank between the keys - mediaeval-style torture.
How is social media changing news?
It's generated an awful lot of non-stories - tempest-in-a-teapot Twitter scandals.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
I need a drop-down list to jog my memory. Best I can think of is a sleuth like Sherlock Holmes.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
You need to be fanatically detail-oriented. And you need to make the facts sing, making for a breezy read.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
That's an oxymoron.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
I like to find my own ideas because, almost invariably, the pitches I get are thinly disguised adverts.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Word, Email stripper, Photoshop, Chrome, Skype. Samsung laptop.
What's your favorite social network?
Oxymoron again. I see social networks as a necessary evil. None inspires favoritism, but I'm most comfortable with Google+.
Who do you wish followed you?
Not fussed on the people front. Clouds of rainbow lorikeets would be nice.
Why did you become a journalist?
I did a school test that said my maths was shot but I had a wide vocabulary.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
Yes, I wrote for Greyfriars, making excruciating stabs at satire.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
A face-to-face with New York architect Stephen Valentine, who was building a cryonics centre in the desert. Also storm chasing in NSW.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Try another industry.
