Hastings, who was a reporter for BuzzFeed and Rolling Stone , died in a car crash early Tuesday. He was 33. Last year, he wrote the following advice “for you and young journalists in general” during a Reddit AMA .
Michael Hastings
Via: Paul Morigi / Getty Images
1. You basically have to be willing to devote your life to journalism if you want to break in. Treat it like it's medical school or law school.
2. When interviewing for a job, tell the editor how you love to report. How your passion is gathering information. Do not mention how you want to be a writer, use the word "prose," or that deep down you have a sinking suspicion you are the next Norman Mailer.
3. Be prepared to do a lot of things for free. This sucks, and it's unfair, and it gives rich kids an edge. But it's also the reality.
