Staff Q&As: Meet multiplatform journalist Hannah Sawyer
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 Hannah Sawyer, a multiplatform journalist on the night news and digital desk. You might have seen her blog posts on Twenty & Change.
Name: Hannah Sawyer
Lives in: York
Hometown: Sweden, Maine
Position at the YDR: Multiplatform journalist
Years with the YDR: Years? Try two months.
Graduated from: Gettysburg College
With a degree in: English with writing concentration
Twitter: @hsawyerydr
Email: hsawyer@ydr.com
Whatever you’d like to tell us about yourself: I was once pulled over for stealing a short school bus. I also like to ski and play pick-up basketball. If anyone’s interested in a game, call me maybe?
1. What made you want to become a journalist? I like telling stories and talking to people. Based on that, journalism just kind of made sense.
2. How do you see journalism changing? I think it’s expanding to encompass more varied beats and more varied ways of storytelling from blogging to multimedia.
3. What do you like most about your job? The least? Most: I have the freedom to write about the issues that interest me. Least: I spend too much time looking at a computer screen.
4. It’s 9:30 a.m. on a day off. What are you doing? Trying to smother my dog with a pillow because she’s waking me up to go for a trail run.
5. What’s been your favorite project or story recently? Why? I’m working on stories dealing with water issues in York County, including wastewater treatment and threats to the Susquehanna. Water issues are fascinating, engrossing and widespread. And I get to find out what happens to everything we flush down the toilet.
6. The drink that’s on your desk right now is: Water. Getting crazy over here.
7. Your favorite journalism-related blog you read or Twitter feed you follow: Pro Publica’s Twitter feed
8. What’s your favorite movie? Book? Favorite movie of all-time, hands-down, will never be replaced is “Super Troopers.” I don’t really have a favorite book, but my stock answer is “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
9. What’s your favorite place in York County? Rocky Ridge County Park
10. What’s one piece of newsroom jargon that had to be explained to you? Everything. It’s a different language.
Last week, we ran a Q&A with multiplatform journalist Bethany Fehlinger. 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.