What was your first job as a journalist?
Intern working for investigative journalist Greg Palast.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Only 31 years old but technology has changed quickly in those three decades... started out on a basic typewriter as a kid, then an electronic
How is social media changing news?
Good and bad - it's getting more news to us quicker but with less contextual information - which is dangerous.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Warren Ellis' Spider Jerusalem from Transmetropolitan
What does it mean to be a journalist?
Your job is to tell the truth that you see, uncover the lies that other don't and hold power accountable. Be hated, be loved.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Please e-mail me at zdroberts@gmail.com
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Final Cut Pro, Photoshop, Lightroom, google, cameras, lenses...
What's your favorite social network?
Facebook.
Who do you wish followed you?
Most of the people I respect I follow me... I wish that some celebs followed me though for the retweets.
Why did you become a journalist?
Used to be an activist, got frustrated that no one was covering my issues - decided I should do it myself.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
Wrote one op-ed column and took a couple of photos - hated my editorial bosses, so I moved to the literary magazine and became an editor.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
The film I'm currently working on about Alaskan politics... soon to be out on DVD.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Don't become a journalist for the pay. Expect to be yelled at, arrested, beaten. If you're not, then you're not doing your job.
