What was your first job as a journalist?
Movie critic for junior high newspaper. It was mimeographed.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Oh, yes.
How is social media changing news?
I'm able to include more voices and research topics more thoroughly. And get news out faster.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Clark Kent
What does it mean to be a journalist?
If a tree fell in the forest, and a journalist wasn't there to report it, what would happen? If an entire forest fell?
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Short, direct email.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Chartbeat, Google alerts, Twitter, Facebook, Nextdoor
What's your favorite social network?
Facebook
Who do you wish followed you?
John Green.
Why did you become a journalist?
I simply enjoy telling people's stories.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
Co-editor of the Pleiad at Waverly High School in Lansing, Michigan. I rabble-roused, mostly.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
Assisting with coverage of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake as a young editor at the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Keep your eyes and ears open. Learn how to use all the tools of your trade.
When's the best time to pitch you?
By phone during work hours, 0700-1600 PDT. Prefer short, direct email.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
I'm in the fire academy with this woman who has leukemia and she's undergoing chemo while still working as a firefighter.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
Can you take my collect call from jail?
What's your favorite drink?
Black coffee. From Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting Co. or Batdorf & Bronson.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Deciding what f/stop to use or where the trail heads next.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
Cook's Illustrated
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
I don't really have a beat.
