JOURNALIST reporting on key topics & safeguarding press access

My job is to get to the heart of a story by investigating the facts, citing sources, considering context, and delivering meaningful information. The skills, discipline and integrity instilled through my studies and work as a daily news reporter have strengthened over the years and continue to anchor my work. I was fascinated by the “the fourth estate” from an early age, both the behind-the-scenes and finished product aspects.

Reporter, staff writer, editor, and podcast host are titles I’ve held for editorial work, which includes writing, editing, photography, layout, and production for digital, audio and print formats. I’ve appeared on TV and radio, and I’ve also spoken on editorial strategy and media matters at dozens of conferences.

My long commitment to volunteering to ensure the rights and responsibilities of the press continues today. I’m on the founding committee of the Frontier Journalists’ Network, and I’m a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.

The FJN is devoted to helping journalists cover topics on the mysteries of human phenomena, such as consciousness, spirituality and healing. We are particularly interested in lifting the bias among mainstream media against these topics and, indeed, the scientific research on them. I’m a member of the founding committee.

We recently conducted original research to learn the perceptions of journalists on these topics. “Consciousness” was named as the No. 1 topic of interest for future coverage. The results reveal that there are two challenges to covering these topics:

  • journalists need to make a strong case to cover these topics because there can be resistance by management for a variety of reasons
  • journalists need to better understand the topics and credible sources (scientists, researchers, etc.)

We’re working to address these needs. Learn more at FrontierNet.org.

My work with the FJN dovetails with my roles as a freelance writer, host of The Mindstream Podcast and editor of Mindstream.

Happy to share more by speaking on these topics at your event or on your show:

  • why the Frontier Journalists’ Network is necessary
  • the state of coverage on the mysteries of human phenomena
  • challenges and opportunities facing journalists who wish to cover these topics
  • the latest science on consciousness, healing and intuition

Please contact me to explore these topics and more.

Frontier Journalists' Network logo

My freelance work (writing and editing) has appeared in these publications, and others:

I’ve also worked on books, providing editorial guidance and editing for:

I continue to write freelance stories, which will join the archive on my Authory page.

Please contact me for story ideas and commissions.

Read my story on Kim Clijster’s return to pro tennis as a mother (hint: She’s not the first).

My 20-year career covering tennis spanned print, online, radio, and a bit of TV, as well as speaking at loads of conferences in the tennis, publishing, and tech industries. My editorial coverage spanned news and features on recreational tennis, college tennis and professional tennis; and news, how-to stories, features, and commentary on the business-to-business side of the sport.

My staff positions were founding editor, producer and director of Tennis.com (11 years), which was a sister property to Tennis magazine and owned by The New York Times Co.; founder and editor of TennisWire.org; contributing editor for Racquet Sports Industry, Inside Tennis, and Tennis Life; assistant editor of Tennis USTA magazine; and freelance stories for several official tournament programs, like the U.S. Open.

My experience founding and running Tennis.com for 11 years was significant for creating compelling online content, running a 24/7 news operation, managing remote contributors, devising a new business model, evangelizing new media technology, licensing foreign content, and business development. Please see the Tennis.com details within my ENTREPRENEUR section to learn more.

Highlights of my tennis journalism

  • Interviewing legends including Roger Federer, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Nick Bollettieri, and all the Top 20 players for 20 years.
  • Becoming the first online journalist to be credentialed to cover Wimbledon.
  • Traveling worldwide to cover pro events like the The Olympic Games, Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon.
  • Winning “Online Editor of the Year” in the Great American Writing Awards for my work pioneering tennis on the Internet at Tennis.com.
  • Winning an award in the U.S. Tennis Writers’ Association Writing Contest for a story about Federer’s charity work.
  • Covering sport science topics like “the mental game,” human performance, Female Athlete Triad, and hydration.
  • The camaraderie of the entire “tennis family” who works in the industry.

Read some of my clips from Racquet Sports Industry

1990s-2000s
Early in my career covering tennis, I joined the USTWA to support the work the organization did on behalf of reporters, writers, editors, broadcasters, and photographers. Very soon I joined the board as secretary and that led to me becoming the longest-standing president in the group’s history of more than 40 years.

Tennis enjoyed a heyday in the 1970s, which was a boon for mainstream media and endemic outlets. I worked The New York Times Co. Magazine Group, first in production for tennis trade titles, then as assistant editor for Tennis USTA magazine, and eventually as the founding editor and director of Tennis.com, which was a ‘sister’ to Tennis magazine. At a company that published monthly magazines, building a 24/7 news operation for a website with international appeal was a new way of working. I relied on freelance reporters and photographers who made a living traveling all over the world covering this great game.

During my years as president, there were standard issues of media relations, the running of the organization and access for coverage — such as female reporters getting equal access to pro players, like in the locker room — that I handled. We created a robust annual international writing content to celebrate “the best in tennis writing.” But the biggest challenge — and opportunity — for journalists and the sport itself was the dawn of the Internet.

As the head of Tennis.com, which was the No. 1 for the sport at that time, the rights of online journalists to professional tournaments was crucial. In the early days, people were suspicious of “cyberspace,” and some questioned the credibility of those reporting for online outlets. I spearheaded the campaign for the rights of online journalists to tennis stakeholders. It took two years of lobbying the Grand Slam Committee — whose members set strategy and policy across the four major tournaments and influenced those of the men’s and women’s tours and beyond — to get equal access for online reporters and photographers at the top tournaments. I was the first online journalist credentialed to cover Wimbledon.

Tennis is a unique international sport of individuals, whose season lasts 50 weeks and is not governed by a single commissioner or league or body. Yet it is extremely cohesive because those who work in the game truly love it. And, many are “lifers.” They are a lot of moving parts in the sport of tennis. It has changed dramatically, just as the entire media landscape has since the 1990s.

The mass adoption of the Internet and the ever-rising prize money awards at pro tournaments forever changed how the pro game is covered. No longer can freelance writers and photographers make a living solely out of traveling the tour. Tournaments displaced the media by doing their own coverage and hiring big agencies for the rest.

The U.S. Tennis Writers’ Association, like tennis, enjoyed a heyday, but it folded just a few years ago and the treasury was donated to the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

US Tennis Writers' Association logo

The preparation for my journalist career started in high school, where I worked on the student newspaper. This led to doing the same at college, where I was a reporter and editor for The Mountain Echo, at Mount Saint Mary’s University (where I studied sociology and journalism). I served as editor-in-chief of the Echo my senior year and, upon graduating in 1990, joined The Middletown Press in Connecticut as a staff reporter. I covered daily news and features for the towns of Westbrook and Clinton.

I went on to serve as a stringer for Reuters news service, covering Yale University and the city of New Haven. Notable assignments include covering infant mortality, Bill Clinton’s first presidential campaign visit, and appearances by the Dalai Lama, Imelda Marcos, Jesse Jackson, and Jerry Brown.

These were excellent experiences to hone my reporting skills and learn how to write fast.