Interview with Alastair Paulin

Interview by Mehroo Siddiqui

Originally from New Zealand (he calls himself a “Proud Kiwi”), Alastair Paulin has lived in the United States since 1992. He has been at Mother Jones for the past seven years and was made the managing editor of the publication four years ago. He worked as a house painter, a children’s acting teacher and an investment banker, before backpacking around the world with his wife for seventeen months, until he finally settled down at Mother Jones.

You joined Mother Jones as an assistant editor, I believe. When was that and how long after that did you become the managing editor? Why did you choose this profession?

I have worked for Mother Jones since 1997 in a variety of editorial roles. I became the managing editor more than four years ago. I knew that I wanted to work in publishing and I've always been a magazine junkie. I love the craft of editing-- taking ideas, finding the right writer, helping them shape a story, and all the extras that make it a good magazine story-- writing captions, display copy, fitting a story, and seeing the designers turn a good story into something more than just words on paper.

There must be a lot you have to do administratively, as a managing editor, and you also write for the magazine. What part of your job do you most enjoy, and why?

True, there is much more to being the managing editor than just the actual editing you get to do. I like being involved in all aspects of the magazine, understanding how everything fits together, and trying to create a work process that lets everybody do their best work.

How do you determine what issue you want to write about for the magazine? How important is writing for you? Have you ever wanted to do more of it?

Unlike some editors, I am not a frustrated writer. I know that the solitary life of a full-time writer is not right for me. That said, I enjoy the assignments I do and mostly find an outlet for writing by freelancing a little.

Tell me about Mother Jones' policy regarding the topics you address in each issue. Has it changed since you have been a part of the team?

Not sure what you mean. But as a rule, a Mother Jones story will have some connection to issues of social justice. In recent years, we have tried to focus more on the big issues of the day-- it has seemed that making a point of covering stories the mainstream media does not is a luxury we can't afford in these political times.

In 2002, you commented that your magazine had found that “readers were the best source of fund-raising” (http://www.editorsforum.org/forum_index_articles/publishing_03-19-02.html). Is that still true, and does the response that you get from your readers then contribute in determining your plans and policies regarding Mother Jones?

No, the fundraising and the editorial decisions are not at all related, although my comment was in the context that we get a lot of support from our readers. And since we don't do focus groups and similar research, we really don't know what our readers would like us to be doing. We assume that our rising circulation over the last five years means that people are responding favorably to what we are doing. But we think our job is to keep challenging our readers rather than to preach to the choir.

What are the kinds of problems you face as managing editor of the magazine? How do you deal with them?

As all managing editors will tell you, the main problem is writers missing their deadlines and one deals with them with violence. Or charm.

In the May/June 2001 issue of Mother Jones, Adam Hochschild commented that the electronic age has raised the standards of journalism; what would you say about that?

Adam's point was that in a cluttered media age, it is no longer enough just to break news-- you must do so in a way that engages readers. We try to make our stories as readable and attractive as possible without compromising the quality of the journalism.

In your most recent issue, there is a letter by Tom McDowell who claims, “people at Mother Jones are misguided and ignorant.” How often do you get comments like that? Have you ever had to face any unpleasantness from the public who might disagree with the views you all espouse at Mother Jones?

Of course we do get flamed by people who disagree with us politically, but in the main, I find that the response we get is amazingly well thought out and engaged. I'm often surprised by how much effort people will put into a letter to the editor that will probably never get published. 

Keeping your own experience in mind, is there anything you think young students or anyone entering the field of journalism should know? What advice would you give them?

Try some things out, travel, bounce around. Writing is a craft and you'll get better if you just keep practicing, no matter what your job is. You can always go to journalism school later if that seems to be the right thing for you.

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