What was your first job as a journalist?
Scientific European
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes, briefly in my school days in late seventies. I can recall the click and a cluck sounds.
How is social media changing news?
Social media is a double-edged sword. Verified handles of agencies and newsmakers are helpful as sources of news and for wider reach.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
None
What does it mean to be a journalist?
It means covering significant developments and analysis listing clickable links to the sources for readers to verify and to read further.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
no comment
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Through emails
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Journals such as Science, Nature, PNAS, Cell, PLOS, NEJM, etc, Google Scholar, Preprints, NASA, ESA , FDA, Wikimedia common, Word online.
What's your favorite social network?
Old boys networks
Who do you wish followed you?
Richard Dawkins, Alice Roberts, Neil deGrasse Tyson.
Why did you become a journalist?
Carl Sagan's ideas inspired me to become a science journalist to overcome language barriers and democratise science for a wider global reader
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
There was no high school newspaper in my school.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
I loved working on how "JWST" and "particle accelerators" are unravelling "early universe" and "very-early universe" respectively.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Influencing minds of million comes with immense responsibility of public good.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Anytime through emails.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
Pitch preference is criteria-based. There is no good or bad pitch.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
Pitch is selected based on significance, novelty, curiosity and public interest. There is no best or worst pitch.
What's your favorite drink?
A cup of freshly made chai tea.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Walking and listening podcasts.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
no comment
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
The most common misperception is "science news is for nerds and is not thrilling and interesting".
