Thomas Ritchie is currently a strategic digital marketing specialist. He works with social media, lead generation, and tries to create content that drives people to their website. He’s even had a few interesting stories that he is super proud of.
Ritchie recently wrote about someone who turned 100. During his interview with this person, they said that their secret to longevity was to smoke cigars and have a lot of sex. Ritchie has also been in the room with a majority of the presidential candidates within the last 20 years, and he has asked most of them a follow up question. One of Ritchie’s favorite stories is that he went to the bathroom once at the Sioux City Journal office and John McCain was in the bathroom at the same time.
When asked what his main job is during his day to day job he said, “My job is to get people on our website and to get people to convert.” He also talked about how he works with a lot of Excel spreadsheets and AI. Another part of his job is to try to get the public to recognize that they are real and not artificial intelligence.
Ritchie was asked about how he gets over the fear of someone not agreeing with him. To that question he responded with, “Take a stand, write it, publish it.” He said that if you worry too much about people not agreeing with you, you will start to overthink everything. Essentially he is saying to make a decision and stick with it.
At the end of the conversation with Ritchie, students involved in the class he spoke to were better informed about who he is as a person & an employee/employer. Thomas Ritchie seems to truly care about his current position of working where he current is. He is also extremely passionate about journalism and the future of it.
I’m not sure the sexy smoker was recent….
I like the first two sentences as a lead, Maren, then jump to the third graf. That creates a focus for your story. The last graf is an attempt to tie up the story with a bow. That’s not necessary. Just stick to the important details. Then stop.
Some good quotes.