Online, you have things like Slate Magazine, which has a lot of commentary and analysis of stories, so it gives you a fuller picture. I would compare that to a news magazine or the New Republic.

At MTV, although the audience is smaller, I found it more interesting to deliver news to a specific group of people, because my story then did not have to try to be all things to all people.

If the breaking news story had to do with hard news, politics specifically, I had a lot to do with it. If it had to do with music, Kurt Loder was more involved.

Gossip is easy, politics is hard.

When I was a freelancer, I thought this journalism thing was a racket, and now that I'm where I am now, I know it's a racket.

At NBC I wasn't really sure if the grandparents were going to get my sense of humor on a particular topic.

You have a specific, defined audience-at MTV, they assume the audience to the news is 15 to 30 years old and they do a lot of research about the things they're interested in.