What was your first job as a journalist?
I worked in SEO niche reporting for a Canadian company's publication.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Elegant things, but no. Never had the honor.
How is social media changing news?
It cuts it down to microsized disclosure and amplifies the need for real-time damage control with all these tabloids muddling things today.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
The cartoon Liberty's Kids with Walter Cronkite's "James Hiller" was my childhood hero.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
You are the soldier's cousin. By protecting information/preserving public tranquility with disclosure method, you protect society.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
I don't find the news funny at all. In a way, I fear more for the modern world than I ever did.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Via email.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Hemingway and Grammarly for editing. Google Docs and Sheets for jobs. The Open Notebook for pitch guides. And old-fashioned style guides.
What's your favorite social network?
LinkedIn's private groups. UPOD Academy for my trade-which is on Facebook.
Who do you wish followed you?
Anyone who values information integrity as much as I do and will pass it on.
Why did you become a journalist?
Because I saw a poison weaving its way into the press. Something needed to be done about toxic reporting and toxic stigmas on journalists.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
I wrote a memoir for the music teacher's funeral.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
Career wise? A piece I did for TechTarget on recent B2B marketing procedures. "The Boy Between The Graves" for pro bono.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Truth is found in total political neutrality. Go to your barista before the mayor for a town scoop. Count minutes when you have hours.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Anytime is fine. I'm more awake in the afternoon.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
I was asked to cover agronomics in Kenya by a nonprofit that houses 27 children. That was an honor that made my whole career.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
Someone asked me to write a deep-research post and only wanted to pay 25 dollars for it.
What's your favorite drink?
Macchiato, traditional not Starbucks.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
I prefer the silence of parks to bars. Gardens, churches, graveyards. Silence is power for a working mind.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
The Architectural Digest.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That independents aren't as qualified as those on staff. That trades isn't really news.
