Elaine Mao

I am a writer and multimedia journalist working in New York City. I do writing, photo, audio, video, production, design, data analysis and coding.

I have freelanced in music, science, culture and environment reporting for various outlets. I also have experience covering Bay Area news for KALX 90.7, and local Brooklyn politics and crime for Brooklyn Campaign. My primary areas of interest are music and culture, technology, human rights and the environment.

I’m currently a student at Columbia University pursuing a dual M.S. in computer science and journalism, with a concentration in digital media. I graduate in May 2014, at which point I hope to be a paid journalist not living with my parents. If I were to define my goals more specifically and ambitiously, I would say I am particularly interested in working in the intersection between journalism, technology and social media, where I hope to contribute to the task of modernizing and redefining journalism for a digital age.

I enjoy Twitter, spontaneous literature purchases, and dessert (primarily the eating of; rarely the making of). If I were to pick one thing I really excel at, I would probably say word-based games. And, right, journalism.