What was your first job as a journalist?
I joined EMA as an industry analyst. Then I went back to doing some real work in the industry. Then back to EMA and loving it even more.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes, when I was 10, I learned to write with all 10 of my fingers on a type writer, as my parents thought this prevents cheating.
How is social media changing news?
I love all the different viewpoints, "reasonable" and "unreasonable."
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
H. G. Wells
What does it mean to be a journalist?
Getting paid to research stuff I would often research anyway in my freetime.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
none
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Twitter or LinkedIn DM works great. Email exchange comes next.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Too many to enumerate. Tableau is the one I'm the most ashamed of :-).
What's your favorite social network?
Twitter
Who do you wish followed you?
John Oliver
Why did you become a journalist?
I'm addicted to tech.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
Yup, I loved writing sarcastic and slightly naive opinion pieces :-).
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
My work around illustrating the decision processes of artificial intelligence and machine learning.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Curiosity is everything.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Anytime.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
Crazy seeming technology product that was so far ahead of its time that it took me three tries to fully understand how it works.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
Run off the mill pitches about how a specific hardware is just so much more powerful than another one.
What's your favorite drink?
Different ones.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Playing soccer with the kids, flying FPV, or working on my planted aquariums.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
Crazy stories on Medium and Reddit.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
Tech is for nerds. Business is for business guys.
