#the arab spring got me woken up way too early on an off day to come into the school morning show and explain twitter

[hashtagcaneven]

and sometimes in j-school you get woken up at 5am to explain hacktivism and how Twitter works on a social level to all of your college's journalism professors in pajama pants and a hoodie because several Middle-Eastern countries are being overtaken by pro-democracy protests and using a new at the time technology to coordinate

only to watch the entire industry you trained in become weaponized against the people of your country and turn even more into an Orwellian pro-government, pro-status quo institution as we all collectively get sucked into a wave of populist and fascist politics that are resulting in the rollback of personal freedoms

anyway, at least I know how to edit a video package and use words good sometimes

journalism advice on the Internet: *takes drag of cigarette* never bring a phone with you to an interview because the government is tracking your every move. Delete all apps and only use end-to-end encryption and ciphers. scrub all your information from the internet (the assassins can use it!) don't join any professional journalism groups; that makes it easier for the assassins to get you. if you let a source see and confirm their quotes for accuracy, they will become enraged and remotely delete your article. Destroy all recordings and notes. everyone you talk to is a hardened war criminal, and you are at constant, extreme risk of being murdered by both your sources and the law enforcement from whom they are on the run my actual job in journalism: "Hello, Dr. Smith, I understand you discovered a new stick bug! Can you tell me why this little guy is special?"