What was your first job as a journalist?
I used to write features for a local lifestyle publication called Rock Flash published by a local radio station.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes, my first stories were written on a typewriter.
How is social media changing news?
I think it's diluting it into click-bait headlines.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
I.M. Fletcher
What does it mean to be a journalist?
Writing researched stories that tell both sides.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
I don't pay attention to hashtags.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Email
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
iMac, iPhone, MacBook Pro, Word, Google
What's your favorite social network?
Facebook
Who do you wish followed you?
Rod Serling
Why did you become a journalist?
I failed at everything else.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
Yes. I composed puzzles and wrote fiction for the literature magazine.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
Historic Preservation efforts paying off in Anacostia.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Cultivate good sources by letting them know when the story they helped you with is going to run.
When's the best time to pitch you?
When I'm out of work.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
Can you come out to the house? I want to show you something.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
Every day I'm sent things that don't match up or make any sense.
What's your favorite drink?
Coffee in the morning, malt beverages and distilled spirits after work.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Moving from one place to another, on foot, in a car or on a motorcycle.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
Washington Post
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
It's highly intellectual.
