What do you do in your current position?
I cover the New Jersey governor, politics and, of all things, the 53.7 trillion municipal bond market. My former top editor once remarked that munis contain the story of the human condition. I thought he was slightly bonkers but he was in fact right.
What past positions have you served?
I worked for 17 years for The (Bergen) Record, as a copy and news-desk editor, and then as a municipal, rewrite and general-assignment political reporter. Prior to that I was a copy and news-desk editor for two New Jersey daily newspapers.
What skills did you use from college to obtain these positions?
In college I learned the importance of setting aside a finished piece and taking a fresh look a day or two later with the viewpoint of the first reader — critic, really — rather than the writer. It’s when you allow your work to breathe that you detect bright points and flaws. I arrived at school as the sort of writer who was content with my first drafts. Four years later, I was marking printouts of take after take, and the final product often had little in common with the initial version. Your level of flexibility, your willingness to self-edit will serve you in any career that involves telling stories.
What advice would you give to current Journalism students?
Every great work — the Bible, “Moby Dick,” the report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States — began because someone asked a question. Ask “Why?” as often as you can. Ask “Who?” Ask “How?”
What are your favorite memories from TCNJ?
Have you heard the campus legend about the two friends who turned a flea-infested, malnourished kitten into their third roommate in Norsworthy, nursing her to health during their junior year before she became a permanent and beloved part of one roommate’s family? And the dean of student life who, in a surprise “Hey, kids! Just dropping by to say hi and see what you’re up to!” visit to the WTSR studios, discovered the kitten entertaining a bunch of DJs and declared her too cute to boot from the residence hall? I’m one of two people who can attest that you can get away with stuff like this. The cat’s name was Hadley.