Below is an interview I conducted of one of my favorite people, Paula Katinas. She is not only a gifted writer but a great friend. She works as a reporter in New York which is something I greatly admire about her. I would so much enjoy being a reporter. I wanted to introduce her to all of you and report on some fascinating facts about Paula. For more information about her you can visit her myspace link at the bottom of this post.
Thank you Paula for affording me the opportunity to interview you.
1. It must be exciting reporting for a local publication. What made you decide to become a reporter?
I have wanted to be a newspaper reporter since I was a child. I saw the “Superman” television shows, as well as movies like “His Girl Friday,” and they really struck a chord with me. I thought journalism was a glamorous profession filled with witty women who fell in love with equally witty men. So, I guess my answer to the question of what made me decide to become a newspaper reporter is that it fed my movie-filled imagination. I fantasized a lot as a kid. While my job is far from glamorous, I still love it because it allows me to fulfill a fantasy of being a writer. It is exciting work. I cover everything from drug busts to community board meetings and get to write features on interesting local people. I just wrote an article on a local woman named Giulia Melucci who has published her first book, a memoir titled “I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti.” It’s a memoir about how she is so successful in the kitchen but has lousy relationships with men. I really like the variety of articles I get to write. Also, being a reporter makes you feel like a big shot in the neighborhood. It’s a big ego boost when the local congressman takes your calls.
2. Finish this sentence. If I weren’t a reporter, I would be a…
If I weren’t a reporter I would be working in a grocery store or a supermarket stocking shelves. I think working in journalism has opened up a world of possibilities for me that I would have been too shy to think of, otherwise. I think my life would have been so much different. I would have been too shy and withdrawn to go after my dreams.
3. Is there one particular story that stands out above the rest?
There are a number of stories that come to mind. The September 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center was certainly memorable. I was not at the Twin Towers that day, but the community I cover, Bay Ridge, lost 32 people in the attack. Two days after the attack, this would be Thursday of that week, the families of the victims started coming into the newspaper office one by one asking us to write about them. I sat with many of them, interviewed them, and tried to get a sense of who these victims were. My paper printed numerous articles about the victims over the next several weeks. One of them was a 25-year-old man named Terrence Gazzani, who worked in Cantor Fitzgerald, the bond firm which had offices on the top two floors of the North Tower of the World Trade Center. His aunt brought in a picture of him. He was a handsome kid. He could have been a model, that’s how handsome he was. I showed the picture to my editor and saw, “This is what the terrorists have done. They’ve taken away promising young people like this kid.” But I have also loved many of the features I have written throughout the years. I did a couple of articles two years ago on two local radio personalities here in New York named Joey Salvia and Christina Stoffo. Both were regulars on The Michael Kay Show, a sports talk radio show on ESPN Radio. And they are both originally from Brooklyn. Christina is no longer with the show. Both of these talented people are very different off the air than on. They seemed nicer, much more intelligent and articulate off the air. For a long time on the show, Salvia played the role of a womanizing sleazeball and Stoffo played a sex kitten. In real life, he’s a married man with a young son and she’s so intelligent, she could run a major corporation. The interviews made me realize that a lot of what you hear on the radio, even on talk shows, is role playing. Interestingly, Salvia’s role on the show seems to be changing. They even ‘fessed up to the fact that he’s happily married and the father of a newborn.
4. I know you are an avid reader. What is your favorite genre and who is your favorite author?
I actually like non-fiction better than fiction. I like biographies and books about politics. In terms of fiction, my favorite writer is Jane Austen. I try to re-read “Pride and Prejudice” and “Persuasion” every couple of years.
5. Working on a novel is very time consuming. When do you find time to write?
This is an interesting question to me because I am grappling with this issue at the moment. I am finding it very difficult to find the time. I write all day for a living. And I often cover things at night. When I come home, all I want to do is relax. Working on the novel seems like an extension of the workday to me. But I am going to try to break the writing down into smaller segments, even if it’s just 15 or 20 minutes a day. It will take a much longer time to finish the novel, but I think it will be a better pace for me.
6. Tell us a little something about your novel.
My novel is about a middle-aged woman who helps a man in his mid-30’s search for his missing father on the streets of New York. The main character, Margaret, is based on me. She’s a newspaper reporter with a self-confidence problem. In the book, she’s going to learn a lot about herself and her capabilities. In the search for this old man, she’s going to find herself. I have written about 50 pages so far.
7. Finish this sentence. When I am not working you can find me…
When I am not working, you can find me taking long walks, reading a good book, or
spending time with friends. My friends are very important to me.
8. If and when you experience writer’s block, how do you deal with it?
Writer’s block is a tough thing to deal with. My way of dealing with it is to just write, even if what I’m writing is idiotic and will never see the light of day. The act of writing itself gets you unblocked, I believe. I think people experience writer’s block because they are perfectionists. They want what they’re writing to be PERFECT. When you write for a newspaper and you have to produce three or four articles a day, you know they’re not all going to be sensational. You just do it.
9. What inspires you?
Everything inspires me. A sunrise, the sound of birds chirping, overhearing a person on the subway saying something funny, a movie, a piece of music, a baby’s smile. Everything.
10. What makes you smile?
I smile when I see an act of kindness, whether it’s directed at me or is just something I’m witnessing.
Thank you so much for this interview. If you want to learn more about me, I’m on Facebook (search for Paula Katinas) and I’m on MySpace, where you can find me at http://www.myspace.com/woman617
