What was your first job as a journalist?
As a freelancer, I wrote about trade finance. My first full-time gig was as assistant editor for a DC computer newspaper.
How is social media changing news?
Mostly in a bad way at this current juncture.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
I prefer not to.
Why did you become a journalist?
Storytelling and news gathering have been part of my psyche since I pretended to be an on-the-street reporter with a tape recorder at age 6.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
I wrote for the middle school paper, and started to work for the high school paper, but it was shut down because of budget cuts.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
Ed Cone and I interviewed the survivors of Cantor Fitzgerald for a Baseline story on how they got the company back online after 9/11.
When's the best time to pitch you?
If this is about Ars Technica, pitch Lee Hutchinson, Sam Axon or Dan Goodin. I don't take pitches at all anymore--unless Lee asks me to.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
I still get pitches for Ars Technica about things I no longer have anything to do with. In my day job, I work only with primary sources.
