Simon Sharwood
Verified
As seen in:
The Register,
LinkedIn,
MSN,
MSN Canada,
MSN Ireland,
MSN Money Canada,
Flipboard,
The Code Project,
EIN News,
NewsBreak,
iTnews
and
Covers:
APAC tech news. Datacenter infrastructure and software. Networking.
Doesn't Cover:
Cryptocurrency. VC and funding. Startups, Consumer tech. Crowdfunding. Research conducted by vendors. I do not accept contributed editorial. SMB tech news. UK news. eSIM
Journalist for @theregister. 99% lurker.
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
PC Week Australia, 1995.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes. In fact I own a typewriter that belonged to my grandfather. It is a beautiful artefact in a two-tone leather case with a brass zipper.
How is social media changing news?
By decreasing trust in journalism and therefore changing readers' habits
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Kimberly Wells (anyone under 50 is going to need to look that up)
What does it mean to be a journalist?
Always having a question to ask ... and a better question to ask you just forgot.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Phone calls, because people don't call without preparation. But remember I live in Sydney, Australia.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
RSS. LinkedIn. Coffee. Banh Mi. Dumplings
What's your favorite social network?
Mastodon. But I hardly use social media any more. My limited output will likely not be useful to PR people.
Who do you wish followed you?
I don't want followers. I want conversation partners.
Why did you become a journalist?
I love discovering and interpreting facts
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
I wrote for it.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
The two reader-contributed columns I devised. https://www.theregister.com/Tag/Who%2C%20Me%3F/ and https://www.theregister.com/Tag/On%20Call/
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Keep asking questions until you are satisfied. Then ask more questions
When's the best time to pitch you?
9AM-11AM Sydney time
What's the best pitch you ever got?
There hasn't been a pitch I would rate as the best ever. Lots of competent pitches. Nothing that stands out as "Wow. You totally get me."
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
"Disaster recovery is important because it helps you recover from disasters".
What's your favorite drink?
Coffee
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Driving my children somewhere
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
A tie between Cricinfo and the NYT
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That I live in the US or UK and can comfortably do things during business hours in those countries. I live in Australia
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.