For this week’s Media Monday we’d like you to meet Marcus Green, founder and Editor-in-Chief of the South Seattle Emerald.
- How did you find yourself as a journalist and founder of the South Seattle Emerald?
I originally began my professional life in high finance, and jumped ship after finding that occupation extremely unfulfilling. I always had a passion for storytelling and South Seattle. The Emerald allowed me to combine both.
2. Which of your stories/shows are you most proud of?
I’m extremely proud of a recent story I did on Garfield High School, breaking the news that their football team planned to collectively kneel at during the national anthem to protest racial oppression. It was good not only to be first, but to more importantly get the point of view of the kids, especially after the rage spiral directed their way after they carried out their plan.
3. What is your favorite thing about your job?
That I get to learn something new every day. Journalism is akin to an advanced liberal arts education.
4. What is your interview style?
I like to be more conversational. I think people reveal more when they feel they’re having a reciprocal exchange rather than being put on trial.
5. What do you look for in a story?
I try to “go where the silence is,” to quote Amy Goodman. I try to ask what important stories either aren’t being covered, or aren’t being covered in a comprehensive way.
6. What is your day like at your job?
There’s definitely no typical day at the Emerald. Sometimes it’s interviewing people for several hours straight, sometimes it’s hanging out at City Hall, other time it’s editing work that’s just flooded in from writers, and on other days its sitting down with people from other media outlets to share best practices.
7. Who do you most look up to in the journalism industry?
The people who I respect a great deal and I’m proud to call my mentors in the industry are Sarah Stuteville from the Globalist, Mark Baumgarten from the Seattle Weekly, Sonya Green of KBCS 91.3fm, and Greg Hanscom of Crosscut. They’ve been essential to my development as a journalist, and they’re all fun as hell to be around.
8. What is your favorite news outlet?
Why, the South Seattle Emerald of course (followed closely by the Seattle Globalist, the Seattle Weekly and Crosscut)
9. What is your guilty pleasure?
I’m a not so closeted superhero/sci-fi/ fantasy/WWE geek
10. Fill in the blank:
- If I am not producing, I am…I have anxiety induced nightmares that I’m not producing enough.
- If I could interview anyone, it would be…It would be a candid Barack Obama holding nothing back about what he really thought about his 8 years in office.
- My favorite thing about Seattle is…The civic activity of the city. It seems like there’s always some new policy experiment we’re coming up, which makes for rarely a dull moment in my gig.