Zoë & Sav Go To College

Michael Hastings’s Advice to Aspiring Reporters

jtgriffiths:

Michael Hastings died tragically young in a car crash in Los Angeles this week, he gave this advice to aspiring reporters during a Reddit AMA: 

1.) You basically have to be willing to devote your life to journalism if you want to break in. Treat it like it’s medical school or law school.

2.) When interviewing for a job, tell the editor how you love to report. How your passion is gathering information. Do not mention how you want to be a writer, use the word “prose,” or that deep down you have a sinking suspicion you are the next Norman Mailer.

3.) Be prepared to do a lot of things for free. This sucks, and it’s unfair, and it gives rich kids an edge. But it’s also the reality.

4.) When writing for a mass audience, put a fact in every sentence.

5.) Also, keep the stories simple and to the point, at least at first.

6.) You should have a blog and be following journalists you like on Twitter.

7.) If there’s a publication you want to work for or write for, cold call the editors and/or email them. This can work.

8) By the second sentence of a pitch, the entirety of the story should be explained. (In other words, if you can’t come up with a rough headline for your story idea, it’s going to be a challenge to get it published.)

9) Mainly you really have to love writing and reporting. Like it’s more important to you than anything else in your life—family, friends, social life, whatever.

10) Learn to embrace rejection as part of the gig. Keep writing/pitching/reading.

lesbianese:

awkwardladies:

don’t read the comments on news articles
don’t read the comments on blog posts
don’t read the comments on anything

This print was inspired by friends @bwdiederich & @mrgid and every single comment I’ve ever read on nytimes.com (sigh)

1-color print, measures 5” x 7”
On Crane Lettra paper
Printed on a Vandercook cylinder press using a polymer plate

for sale on etsy

i wouldn’t pay money for something i could (and do) write on my mirror but yeah, don’t ever read the comments. particularly on your own shit. 

Democrat Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona’s LD 9 becomes first openly bisexual member of Congress (+)

“What kind of world do we want? As progressives, we believe in fairness and justice. We value freedom—both freedom from tyranny and the freedom to be and do what we dream. We want everyone to have the opportunity to succeed. And we believe in responsibility—for ourselves, for each other, and for the earth.” —Kyrsten Sinema

h0odrich:

fffcuk:

autosuficiencia:

In Spanish, we don’t really say “I love you” we say “traeme una cerveza” which roughly translates to “you are the light of my soul” & I think that’s beautiful.

can someone explain the joke

how to spot a gringa in 2 seconds

gregrutter:

randyliedtke:

I spent 2 months and $100 planning this

Worth every penny

veronicamarsmovieupdates:

@IMKristenBell: First day of school…I might be a bit over excited? #VeronicaMarsMovie