Tom Henderson
Verified
As seen in:
Mother Jones,
The Oregonian,
Washington Times,
The Charlotte Observer,
Las Vegas Review-Journal,
Lexington Herald-Leader,
The News & Observer,
Times Union (Albany),
Richmond Times-Dispatch,
Oregon Public Broadcasting
and
Covers:
Government, social issues and general news and features with extensive experience in editorial and column writing.
Doesn't Cover:
There is nothing I do not cover.
Pacific Northwest newspaper reporter and editor with more than 40 years of experience.
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
Sports writer for the Northwestern Star in Salem, Oregon. My very first paying job was delivering the Fairbanks Daily News Miner in Alaska.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes, and in the past 24 hours.
How is social media changing news?
For the worst. We are devolving into an idiocracy, aided and abetted by social media at the expense of real journalism.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Lois Lane
What does it mean to be a journalist?
To comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. To raise hell, save the world and sell newspapers.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
Hashtag? What's that?
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Emails are nice. They're easy to delete. Don't get me wrong. They can be useful. Sometimes.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
A pencil, notepad, telephone and one of those new-fangled typewriters attached to TV screens.
What's your favorite social network?
None of the above.
Who do you wish followed you?
Barring the resurrection of Mike Royko, Mary Schmich of the Chicago Tribune.
Why did you become a journalist?
Because it is a noble and romantic calling, and I am uniquely unqualified to be anything else.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
I was the news editor of The Clypian at South Salem High School where I became thoroughly addicted to newspaper journalism.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
All of the stories I have written about people experiencing homelessness, poverty and oppression from their own perspective.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Don't ever change your mind. The world needs journalists.
When's the best time to pitch you?
When I am not on deadline. A newspaper's deadlines are easy to learn. Learn them.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
A homeless woman and former undercover narcotics officer who was dying of cancer asked me if I wanted to hear her story.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
Every pitch where a public relations person attempts to control how the story is written.
What's your favorite drink?
A toss up between 1% milk and Coke Zero.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Asleep.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
The New York Times and Action Comics
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That my job is to take dictation from government sources rather than vetting everything they say.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.