Stephen Cobb
As seen in:
LinkedIn,
Medium,
Nature,
TechTarget,
Dark Reading,
Marketplace,
Law360,
Richmond Times-Dispatch,
JD Supra,
Lexology
and
Award-winning technologist. Volunteer. Carer. No longer using X except to criticize Elon Musk and his right-wing extremist friends linktr.ee/StephenCobb
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
A review of R:Base database software for BYTE Magazine, January, 1987.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes. But I got into computers to avoid them.
How is social media changing news?
Social media provides immediacy and commentary in news breaking and distribution, but accuracy may suffer and the medium is easily abused.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
John Russell
What does it mean to be a journalist?
You'
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
Always learning new things.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Email
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Google, Google Scholar, Chrome. Word, Excel, TOR, various VPNs.
What's your favorite social network?
Twitter
Who do you wish followed you?
Cybersecurity policy makers
Why did you become a journalist?
To help people get the most out of technology while defending against those who abuse it.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
Back in the sixties there was no newspaper at King Henry VIII School for Boys.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
The St. Augustine protests that forced passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Never ever make stuff up.
When's the best time to pitch you?
10AM Pacific
What's the best pitch you ever got?
Can you write about security in Internet commerce for the Journal of the Hong Kong Industrial Technology Centre, in 1996.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
Need stories of hackers killing people.
What's your favorite drink?
Tonic water with a slice of lime
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
In my armchair.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
Politico's Morning Cybersecurity
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That achieving digital security is possible if we just try harder.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.