What was your first job as a journalist?
I was an intern at the Southport Visiter during my first year at LJMU - my first printed byline was a story about a massive fish!
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Nope, sadly not.
How is social media changing news?
News is now user generated more than it ever has been. It's also diluting the truth in parts.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Rory Gilmore, obviously.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
Integrity.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Email, please.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Statamic. SEMrush. Affilimate. Google Search Console. ChatGPT. Claude. Amplitude.
What's your favorite social network?
None of them! I have LinkedIn for professional use and Facebook for PTA use. Otherwise I don't use social media.
Who do you wish followed you?
Caitlin Moran.
Why did you become a journalist?
I originally wanted to be a lawyer, but signed up to LJMU's Looprevil Press as a writer. The rest is history.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
Not my high school newspaper, but my university student newspaper. I worked as Features editor to start with, then took over as Editor later.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
A guide to 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome - a story close to my heart.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Read everything and anything. Don't just stick to your country's media - read other country's media, too.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Early morning, preferably. Though I tend to be online late at night...
What's the best pitch you ever got?
An all-inclusive paid for trip to Abu Dhabi to review the emirate's family hotels and offerings. Once in a lifetime opportunity.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
Nothing comes to mind.
What's your favorite drink?
If we're talking alcohol - it was Amaretto and diet coke, but these days I've taken up drinking WKDs again for the nostalgia.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Walking my two dogs up and down country lanes, trying to complete my daily Su Doku puzzle or in my garden.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
None. I prefer reading fiction - Sarah J. Maas is a favourite.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
All products targeted at parents make life easier. They don't.
