Vaughn Stafford Gray
As seen in:
Medium,
MSN,
Yahoo Life,
The Atlantic,
Lifehacker,
Salon,
Smithsonian Magazine,
Food & Wine,
Food52,
Jamaica Observer
and
Covers:
Travel, Food, Restaurants, Retail, Fashion, Lifestyle, Race, Jamaican/Caribbean Culture, Identity, Immigration, Intersectionality, and Arts & Culture.
Main character energy. Bylines: Food & Wine, The Atlantic, Saveur, Smithsonian, Jamaica Observer, Lifehacker, & more. Correspondent: CBC News.
Interview
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes, the summer of 1999. Don't ask.
How is social media changing news?
It makes it more immediate and accessible.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Murphy Brown. Duh!
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
A straight-to-the-point email or DM.
What's your favorite social network?
Instagram.
Who do you wish followed you?
Padma Lakshmi, Issa Rae, Arlan Hamilton, Malcolm Gladwell, Solange, Rihanna, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Tyler Brûlé, Samin Nosrat and Frank Bruni.
Why did you become a journalist?
As an editor-in-chief once said: "Each day we are given the opportunity to impact the nation with our words".
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
My high school didn't have one but I was on the yearbook committee.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
My first cover story.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Trust your gut.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Between 9 am and 2 pm EST
What's the best pitch you ever got?
The first-ever one — to interview Iyanla Vanzant.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
To review Microsoft's Zune.
What's your favorite drink?
Gin martini followed by a Negroni.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
In the kitchen cooking.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.