Staff Q&As: Meet multiplatform journalist Stacia Fleegal
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 multiplatform journalist Stacia Fleegal. You might have seen her new blog, Versify, which focuses on poetry-related news and events in the area.
Name: Stacia M. Fleegal
Lives in: The woods on the PA/MD line
Hometown: Huntingdon, Pa.
Position at the YDR: Started as an editorial assistant, became a features journalist in the features department in June
Years with the YDR: Less than one
Graduated from: Lycoming College
With a degree in: Creative writing
Twitter: @shapeshifter43
Website: www.staciamfleegal.com
Whatever you’d like to tell us about yourself: I’m a poet with two published collections of poetry, and I’m co-founder and managing editor of the online literary journal Blood Lotus (www.bloodlotusjournal.com). My first job out of college was with a newspaper, and I worked for universities, publishing companies, and libraries before coming back to journalism. I collect books and rocks, so no one ever wants to help me move. Animal lover and music fanatic who is happiest when cooking/eating, in the woods and/or near water. Also, I’m a mega-fan twice: Steelers and Pearl Jam.
1. What made you want to become a journalist? We are actually paid to write/edit (unlike in the poetry world), and it’s writing that the average person reads on a daily basis, so contributing to that is meaningful to me, especially in a world where a writer can’t go a day without hearing about the death of the book, the death of print publishing, the death of… something vital… Print or online, journalism reminds me, among other things, of the very practical value of the written word when I start to despair.
2. How do you see journalism changing? Digital, digital, more interactive/community-sourced, digital. But we know this.
3. What do you like most about your job? The least? Besides getting to know my talented co-workers, I love always knowing what’s going on in the community. I diplomatically decline to say what I like least until after my next employee evaluation. 🙂
4. It’s 9:30 a.m. on a day off. What are you doing? Eating toast and working on poems, or working/playing outside.
5. What’s been your favorite project or story recently? I love the entire March/April 2012 issue of Smart Magazine for its focus on holistic and alternative living. Also, I’ve started a YDR poetry blog, so I’m incredibly excited about that.
6. The drink that’s on your desk right now is: Please stop reminding me how hard giving up coffee has been…
7. Your favorite journalism-related blog you read or Twitter feed you follow: What’s Twitter? Kidding. @sexyliberal @huffingtonpost @nprbooks @journalistslike (Stuff Journalists Like)
8. What’s your favorite movie? Book? Way too many to pick faves, but old standbys are High Fidelity and Anne Sexton’s Complete Poems, respectively. They’re the entertainment equivalent of comfort food for me.
9. What’s your favorite place in York County? Central Market rocks.
10. What’s one piece of newsroom jargon that had to be explained to you? I still don’t really REALLY know what a pica is… [Editor’s note: A unit of measurement equal to 12 points or about 1/6 of an inch. Clear as mud, right?]  BREAKING: I sorta know what a pica is now. -SMF
Last week, we ran a Q&A with metro editor Susan Martin. 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.