What was your first job as a journalist?
Associate editor at UltraSport Magazine, a citizen-sport magazine published in Boston. It was great, but ahead of its time and folded, alas.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Most of my life! At the J-School, we had to file deadline stories on manual typewriters, even though there were personal computers by then.
How is social media changing news?
It's affecting every side of the game, from gathering to disseminating news. How much time you got to get into this?
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Jon Stewart. I grew so dependent on him to parse the horrors of the news for me, he became my Walter Cronkite. But much funnier, obviously.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
To be a journalist is to work hard and with unstinting commitment to capture and express whatever world it is your responsibility to cover.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
I don't really follow news hashtags that much, so I don't have a favorite.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
A clear and complete email.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
My tool kit is a pretty simple one: Apple Macbook Pro, iPhone, chargers, pens, paper. Google comes in handy. I use a handful of apps.
What's your favorite social network?
Instagram.
Who do you wish followed you?
The guys at Pod Save America.
Why did you become a journalist?
I couldn't make up stories to save my life, so fiction was out. Also, I'm very nosy.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
I did not! But I was Publicity Director for my high school in my junior year. I hand-painted all our banners.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
I am very proud of Coastal Living's recovery-focused all-Caribbean issue, which isn't even in print yet (coming November 2018).
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Read everything, especially fiction. Practice thinking critically. Work very hard, and be humble. We all have a lot to learn. Always.
When's the best time to pitch you?
There is no ideal time, as our print production and digital pace overlap so much, there's no real trough for me.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
A beautiful pitch to chart the recovery of a small textile-weaving town in the South of France. Espadrilles played a starring role!
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
That would be telling tales out of school! But I have to say, pitches on non-coastal destinations take me aback, as do spelling errors.
What's your favorite drink?
When it's time for alcohol, a Manhattan. When it's not, an iced cortado.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Reading a book, going to Pilates, or en route to somewhere else (the best!).
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
The New Yorker.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That it's all cocktails on the beach and hanging out. Sometimes I work so hard on assignment, I never even get in the ocean.
