This week on Inside the Media Minds we spoke with Derek Johnson, Senior Staff Writer at Federal Computer Week. This is the first remote interview we recorded from home in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic to check in on how this pandemic and resulting quarantine has affected reporters, publications and the media landscape.
As a senior staff writer, Derek’s typical covers cybersecurity, the federal government and how the two impact each other. However during the past few months, the current events have shifted his beat to cover how COVID-19 is specifically impacting the business of federal government, policy and cybersecurity.
Listen to this episode to hear Derek’s thoughts on:
- FCW’s boost in readership due to readers wanting to know how everything is impacting policy
- How the government quickly adapted to the mandatory work from home environment
- How he finds balance covering COVID-19 related stories relevant for readers and covering non-crisis related topics he’d typically examine if the crisis wasn’t happening
- The nature of virtual events; what to do and what NOT to do
For more of Derek Johnson’s inside scoop, listen below and tweet us @MediaMindsShow to share your thoughts on the episode.