Rob Waters
(He/Him)
As seen in:
MindSite News,
Medium,
Forbes,
HuffPost,
The Guardian,
The Washington Post,
USA Today,
ABC NewsOne,
PBS NewsHour,
The Atlantic,
POLITICO
and
Covers:
I cover health, mental health, science, urban affairs, craftsmanship, travel and world culture -- and anything else that captures my interest and lends itself to good storytelling.
Journalist writing on health, mental health, science, public health. Founding editor, @MindSiteNews. This account has been archived, I will no longer post here.
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
Editor of the Tenderloin Times -- I was 24.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes, I even published a newspaper using typewritten copy.
How is social media changing news?
Makes it easier to find sources and disseminate stories -- and a lot harder to be break through all the noise.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Aaron Altman, the sweating and ethical reporter from Broadcast News.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
I like the Finley Peter Dunne adage about newspapers: that our job is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
By email
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Laptop, reporter's notebook, digital recorder, cell phone, Word, Internet browser and bicycle.
What's your favorite social network?
Don't have one.
Who do you wish followed you?
About 500,000 more people.
Why did you become a journalist?
To tell interesting stories, meet interesting people, expose bad stuff and celebrate what's good.
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 piece I did in Cuba on "inventos"—how Cubans, deprived of access to supplies, learned to make practically anything out of almost nothing.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Do your homework. Don't be afraid of asking stupid questions. Rewrite.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Never, unless it's a really great pitch.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
I do very few stories from pitches so can't recall now.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
There are too many to remember, and they misspell my name and seemed to have no idea of what I write about.
What's your favorite drink?
La Maxima, from my favorite restaurant/bar, Nido, in Oakland (tequila, mezcal, blood orange liqueur, lime, honey).
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
On my bike or at a Warriors game.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
The Onion.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
As a freelance writer, I need to be interested in a story and have an outlet that is as well. I get a lot of pitches that don't get this.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.