Soren Hottenstein
(They/Them)
Covers:
Personal finance, consumer banking, checking and savings accounts, credit cards, credit scores, debt and repayment, budgeting, saving and emergency funds, financial education, financial literacy, cons
Doesn't Cover:
Stock picking, cryptocurrency or NFTs, day trading, forex or speculative assets, gambling or betting, political coverage or advocacy
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
Reporting how the pandemic has changed communication dynamics in the business world (possibly forever).
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes!
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
The original, unbridled Nancy Drew (not later tamed iterations).
What does it mean to be a journalist?
Seeing things as they are and reporting insights responsibly, with accuracy and context.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Via email. Keep is short, sweet, and relevant. Please make sure you understand what my beat is first, too.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
GSuite and my brain.
What's your favorite social network?
Twitter for facilitating discourse with intellectual peers and Instagram for sharing visual stories with kindred spirits.
Who do you wish followed you?
Sadly, most of them have passed over. Of the living, having Alan Bradley follow me (and talking toxicology) would be neat.
Why did you become a journalist?
A deep-rooted passion for research and a life-long obsession with digging for obscure answers steered me towards journalism.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
Sort of. I ran my own magazine with my sister in high school. Students across the country submitted poetry, prose, art, or news reports.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
A money dysphoria piece for Investopedia. I interviewed two financial therapists for that story and learned more than I thought I would.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
If you're innately curious and obsessively focused on getting the details right, you'll do well.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Caring for my jungle of houseplants, my latest art project, binge-watching a cerebral or dystopian TV show, or testing new recipes.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
Too many to list!
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
I'm not a copywriter :)
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.