What was your first job as a journalist?
I wrote freelance articles for Writer's Digest.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Oh yeah
How is social media changing news?
It puts information in the hands of people—unfortunately, a lot of that information is bad.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Kermit the Frog
What does it mean to be a journalist?
Identifying good stories and telling them in an engaging way
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
was pretty funny back in the day.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
email
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Word, Google Docs, InDesign, Photoshop, occasionally Illustrator and Premiere
What's your favorite social network?
Instagram
Who do you wish followed you?
Wendell Berry
Why did you become a journalist?
I love stories.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
Nope
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
I once interviewed artist Peter Max about escaped cows and psychedelic paintings. That was pretty cool.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Get paid—you're worth it,
When's the best time to pitch you?
In the afternoon (or whenever)
What's the best pitch you ever got?
Interview an off-grid farmer in eastern Kentucky
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
Most of the ones students pitch me.
What's your favorite drink?
Bourbon, neat
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
In bed
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
Garden & Gun is a stellar publication.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
I write a lot about farming, which most people think is a profession filled with uneducated rubes (I've met a lot of very smart farmers).
