Staff Q&As: Meet education reporter Angie Mason
To help you get to know our newsroom staff a bit better, a series of question-and-answer posts with each journalist will run on Mondays. This morning, meet education reporter Angie Mason. You might have seen her blog, Cram Session; read a story of hers at ydr.com or in the Daily Record, or seen her covering a school board meeting in York County.
Name: Angie Mason
Lives in: West York
Hometown: Frostburg, Md.
Position at the YDR: Education reporter
Years with the YDR: Five and a half
Graduated from: Undergraduate at Frostburg State University, graduate at University of Maryland
With a degree in: BS in English, Master’s in journalism
Twitter: @angiemason1
Facebook: Angie Mason, YDR education reporter
Whatever you’d like to tell us about yourself: I landed in York after spending the first 26 years of my life in various parts of Maryland. I married my husband, Matt (whose bio you’ll probably see on this blog [Editor’s note: He’s the assistant features editor]), in 2010, and we live in West York with our crazy cat, Pita.
1. What made you want to become a journalist? I always liked to write. I wasn’t really sure what to do when I first started college, but I worked for my student newspapers in high school and college and eventually decided to pursue it full-time.
2. How do you see journalism changing? I never imagined I’d be doing so much online. My job was very much writing focused when I started, but there are so many other skills I’ve had to learn over the years.
3. What do you like most about your job? The least? I like learning about new things and meeting new people. The schedule of a daily reporter isn’t always the greatest, though!
4. It’s 9:30 a.m. on a day off. What are you doing? Drinking coffee.
5. What’s been your favorite project or story recently? Why? Early in the school year, I spent a day at York Academy Regional Charter School. It’s always fun to spend time in a school and see how things work.
6. The drink that’s on your desk right now is: Peppermint mocha.
7. Your favorite journalism-related blog you read or Twitter feed you follow: Probably Romenesko and Poynter.
8. What’s your favorite movie? Book? Pride and Prejudice on both counts.
9. What’s your favorite place in York County? Downtown York — the York Emporium, White Rose, and Mezzogiorno are among my favorite spots.
10. What’s one piece of newsroom jargon that had to be explained to you? I’m sure many have been explained to me, though none are jumping to mind!
Last week, we ran a Q&A with assistant sports editor Jess Sprenkle. To read all of the staff Q&A interviews we’ve done so far, click on the “Staff Q&As” under “About us” at the top of the homepage.