What was your first job as a journalist?
I started writing for a health newsletter in Australia.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes. I remember when we went from white out to the corrector ribbon on my first writing job.
How is social media changing news?
It is fracturing it and making misinformation and disinformation a force. It opens the doo to niche and fringe resources.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Orson Scott Card or N.K. Jamesin.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
It means that you respect the trust others place in you to tell their story, and to do it well.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
. Its there to try and trend lol but that shuold be earned not manipulated.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Linkedin. Or email. Or via a contact. But generally - I find them. Always looking.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Adobe Premiere, MS Word, Excel, every camera and microphone I can get my hands on.
What's your favorite social network?
Linkedin
Who do you wish followed you?
My father. Unfortunately he has passed and cannot follow in the social media sense of the question.
Why did you become a journalist?
I love getting to the bottom of things, connecting the dots and telling a true story. I prize truth and I have a knack for interviewing.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
Nope, though I submitted a lot to it - that was way too political for me.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
War Dogs: America's Forgotten Heroes (narrated by Martin Sheen) was the impetus for a law that was changed in Congress.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Research everything. Even if it goes nowhere that still signposts direction. Look for patterns. Dive deeper. Then, write and rewrite.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Really - late at night if in writing. If not in writing there's never a great time.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
Here's a million dollars. Make a great documentary. That has happened exactly once to me.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
15 years in TV development and documentary - have had too many bad pitches to count. And some fantastic ones.
What's your favorite drink?
Depends who is buying.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
With my dogs. Doesn't really matter where.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
The Atlantic. The New York Times. The Washington Post. Vanity Fair. Wired. Really - I read everything.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That technology does the work. No matter how much it has improved - it's still the people that make the difference.
