What was your first job as a journalist?
The Evening Sun. My column was (and is) TILTING AT WINDMILLS.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
I still use a typewriter.
How is social media changing news?
Inaccurate, opinionated, disrespectful, uncivil, and boring.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
The hobo journalist played by James Cagney in the movie JOHNNY COME LATELY.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
I have tremendous respect for old-fashioned journalists who saw newspapers, not as forums for their opinions, but as seekers of truth.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
We love your writing, and want you to write for us.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
I use an erasable ballpoint pen, a fountain pen, a pencil, or WORD on my computer.
Why did you become a journalist?
I love newspapers, and my editor lets me write whatever I want to, without restrictions as to subject matter or length.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
A story I wrote about a Memorial Day march in which Vietnam veterans interacted with great solemnity and respect with aged WW II vets.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Learn what standards of objectivity are, and try to implement them in your writing.
What's your favorite drink?
Coffee, coffee, and coffee.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
On a green velvet chair in my living room reading, or in my garden fussing over my roses.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
All of my favorite newspapers, other than my own, have gone out of business.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
I can't think of any. My readers are really wonderful.
