What was your first job as a journalist?
I was a reporter at the Malay Mail Online.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
What's a typewriter?
How is social media changing news?
Smart people are using it to share cool ideas. Dumb people are using it to share clickbait trash. Unfortunately, there are more dumb people.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Tintin - he's badass, beats up like at least five villains in every comic.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
To always add value to a debate, to ask inconvenient questions, to tell the truth, to not care whether people like what you're saying.
What's your favorite social network?
Facebook
Why did you become a journalist?
Awe at the work of great writers and wanting to be like them. Also, contempt at the work of crappy writers and wanting to do better.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
No, my high school newspaper was really lame and I made fun of the people who wrote in it.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
'Dangerous Liaisons' - an expose of the links between elite universities and authoritarian regimes.
When's the best time to pitch you?
When you've got a good idea.
What's your favorite drink?
Plum Wine
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
At a bookstore, a bar, or a nightclub, depending on the time of day.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
The Atlantic
