What is your current job?
Associate news editor, Science News.
What was your first byline?
My first byline for my high school paper in Florida, my freshman year, and the story was a new building at the school. The earliest stories I remember that were truly meaningful were pieces about summer baseball in my hometown in Pennsylvania, specifically tracking baseball stats. That experience made me realize how much I appreciated reporting on numbers and their meaning.
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What was your first real job in journalism?
In college, I wrote a science column for the local newspaper, the Knoxville News Sentinel. I had experience writing for a Pennsylvania paper during high school and fortunately the editors in Knoxville let me practice science journalism, which is what I was studying as an undergraduate at UTK.
How did you get it?
If I remember correctly, with a professor's urging, I wrote an email to an editor at the paper and explained I was writing a column for the university's paper and wondered if the city paper would be interested in similar science coverage. The editor must have said yes, but I don't remember the specifics.
What advice do you have for people looking to break into journalism?
Use the same techniques you use as a reporter to search for job leads. Talk to people, ask for informal meetings, and volunteer in organizations that are adjacent to journalism — Society of Professional Journalists, National Association of Science Writers and others. Sometimes a person will meet you in a volunteer capacity and then want to work with you when they have an opening. Also, constantly think about story angles, even if it's in everyday conversation. When do people lean in and listen more carefully, what questions do they ask, follow your ear and intuition for a story lead, then go do your research and reporting. You never know what you'll stumble upon.