Rachel Goodman
(She/Her)
Santa Cruz
As seen in:
KSQD-FM (Santa Cruz )
Covers:
Media and culture, politics, environment, arts, science, social justice.
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
Covering city council elections for a college radio station.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes, a Smith Corona
How is social media changing news?
It is polluting the information ecosystem so totally that most young people cannot tell journalism from opinion. Algorithms stoke extremism.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Louis Lane.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
It means collecting and presenting and contextualizing events and stories relevant to your audience in a way that is verified and factual.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
What's a hashtag?
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
By email.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Digital recorder, microphone, Hindenburg digital editing software, Wheatstone board, Sure SM 7 mics, transmitters, etc.
What's your favorite social network?
Facebook?
Who do you wish followed you?
Heather Cox Richardson
Why did you become a journalist?
Because I'm incredibly nosy, no, curious, and I could not settle on a career where I had to know a lot about a little, so I went for variety.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
No
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
A story about a program where disabled veterans are taught to surf by volunteers.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Don't get discouraged, stay calm, and carry on. You are the unsung heroes of our time, battling a firehose of disinformation.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
A woman activist from Iran wanted to speak about the death of Amina Hassan.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
A listener who wanted to talk about how EMF's are frying our brains.
What's your favorite drink?
Kale smoothie with pineapple and blueberries.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Hiking in the woods.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
The Atlantic or Heather Cox Richardson
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That radio is dead, it's not.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.