What was your first job as a journalist?
My first beat was covering downstream derivatives in the oil and gas industry for Chemical Market Reporter.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes
How is social media changing news?
By inserting a huge amount of rumor into the mix. A majority of Americans use untested or unchecked sources for their "news."
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Sam Spade
What does it mean to be a journalist?
Telling the stories my readers need to know; giving a voice to the voiceless.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
By email or text
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Any and all media.
What's your favorite social network?
Twitter
Who do you wish followed you?
The Dalai Lama
Why did you become a journalist?
I am nosey and love to write; it seemed like a natural pairing.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
No, I became a journalist almost by accident.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
Too many to pick just one, but the cancer series in Elmont brought an issue to the front that officials wanted hidden.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Learn grammar!
When's the best time to pitch you?
Any time
What's the best pitch you ever got?
Recently it would be two stories: Cancer zones in communities of color; and the Belmont Park Arena.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
The Dow-Corning breast implant suit. I usually compare the Dow attorneys to child molesters, but child molesters are more honest.
What's your favorite drink?
Orange juice
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
I'm at a computer between 16 and 20 hours a day, so — sleeping.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
The Atlantic
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That community journalism is easier than higher profile beats and requires less background or research
