Steven Rosenfeld
Verified
As seen in:
Independent Media Institute,
MSN,
House.gov,
Salon,
The Mercury News,
The Minnesota Star Tribune,
Yahoo,
Newsday,
Daily Kos,
RawStory,
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
and
Covers:
technology and voting
Journalist. Covering how voting rights, election administration and technology since 2018.
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
Freelancing for the Burlington (VT) Free Press.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes. And a razor blade cutting and splicing 1/4 magnetic tape for public radio.
How is social media changing news?
It feeds people more of what AI thinks they want to see, reinforces bias (not challenging it) and fans political polarization.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
The literary journalists who burst on the scene in the 1960s and 1970s -- starting with Norman Mailer's Miami & The Siege of Chicago.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
As Bill Moyers has said, it is being a beachcomber on the shores of other people's wisdom.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
I can't recall...
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Send me an email. Steven@Ind.Media
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Basic text, photo and audio writing, editing...
What's your favorite social network?
None.
Who do you wish followed you?
Anyone interested in making US elections more participatory, transparent and trustworthy.
Why did you become a journalist?
I was interested in how the world works. I still am.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
Produced one issue with friends when there was no paper.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
I've been writing about how technology (analog and digital) can make voting and vote counting more trustworthy--and what to avoid in 2020.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
In 2019, first become an expert in some field and then learn how to tell insightful stories in your chosen medium.
When's the best time to pitch you?
It doesn't matter--it's email. I'll read and rsvp.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
It's wasn't a pitch. It was real information that no one else had but was of timely and wide interest.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
I don't remember. I've been more of a reporter than editor.
What's your favorite drink?
Anything that's actually good...
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Playing electric guitar or walking in San Francisco.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
The New Yorker
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That everything is rigged (so why care or why be so naive as to think anything can be done to improve the process).
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.