TJ Fink
Verified- Contributor, Freelance
- None, Freelance (Tom's Guide, Laptop Mag)
- None, Tom's Guide, Yahoo Life, MSN, T3
New York
As seen in:
MSN,
MSN Australia,
Yahoo Life,
Flipboard,
Live Science,
Tom's Guide,
Yahoo,
T3,
Laptop Mag,
Tech & Learning
and
Covers:
fitness tech, mobile tech, outdoor gear, trail-running shoes and apparel, consumer product reviews
Doesn't Cover:
politics, religion
tech tester 👣 trail trekker 👣 adventure journalist
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
When I moved to New York City in 2007, my very first editorial job was freelance fact-checking for Laptop Magazine.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes, I originally learned to type on a typewriter before laptops became ubiquitous in our society.
How is social media changing news?
Everyone is interconnected, and social media has made fact-checking a lot more challenging.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Clark Kent.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
Reporting the facts as objectively (and creatively) as possible, while also allowing your own editorial voice to shine.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
Something in the realm of
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Via email.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Google Drive, Trello, Canva
What's your favorite social network?
Instagram
Who do you wish followed you?
Dwayne Johnson
Why did you become a journalist?
Because telling stories is my favorite thing.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
N/A
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
I'm pretty darn proud of the article "I just ran my first trail marathon — here’s the gear I used" for Tom's Guide. Fun challenge!
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
From my experience, the best career decisions are the ones that leave you with the most options.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Monday through Friday.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
Getting pitched to review a ventilated bubble helmet to protect against COVID.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
There are no bad pitches, only funny ones.
What's your favorite drink?
Old Fashioned or Negroni
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Running in the woods!
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
Cracked.com
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That I get to keep all the products I test.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.