Interview with National Geographic’s Marc Silver

It’s always been my dream job to write for National Geographic.

But, the next best thing is having the chance to talk to someone who does.

I had the distinct privilege of interviewing Marc Silver, National Geographic’s Deputy Director of Departments. Silver’s writing expertise doesn’t stop there – he’s also the author of Breast Cancer Husband: How to Help Your Wife (and Yourself) Through Diagnosis, Treatment, and Beyond, which was named one of the top ten consumer health books of 2004 by Library Journal.

Silver’s journalism career is one of both breadth and depth. He’s been a journalist since 1973, when he convinced the Baltimore Jewish Times to let him write stories for them for free – they hired him after a year. He went on to edit National Jewish Monthly and then learned the ropes of consumer journalism at U.S. News & World Report.

In 2006 he went to NPR, where he edited for the web site. Silver moved to National Geographic in 2007, is the Deputy Director of Departments and the guy behind “Pop Omnivore,” a blog about how popular culture handles topics of interest to the magazine.**

Laura Cococcia: Writing for National Geographic is my dream job! How did you get started as a journalist / author? Was it always your dream?

Marc Silver: I got started back in the dark ages, when we typed stories on machines called typewriters, I wrote in corrections by hand with a red pencil, and sometimes sliced up a story and reassembled it with scotch tape! After I graduated from college (English major, journalism minor), I wrote some stories for a local weekly paper without pay (today you’d call me an intern), absolutely loved it, and they began paying me.

I never imagined working for National Geographic. But it is a dream job – to be able to cover so many interesting and timely topics – from endangered animals to global warming – and to work at a place that devotes so much attention to getting it right and making stories read well and look great!

Laura Cococcia: What was the most interesting location you ever wrote about?

Marc Silver: I have not traveled much for National Geographic, since I mainly edit. But for a story on highway litter, I did get to go to a local road with a trash expert. We picked up trash on the side of the road. (This is not a joke.) The trip was an example of how getting down and dirty, so to speak, really pays off. The objects we found and collected (for a photograph) illustrated all the trends: soda cups and fast food rubbish tossed out of car windows on the exit ramp, countless cigarette butts, boxes that had flown off a garbage truck, and plenty of weird stuff – cellphone case, coffee table legs! So even a seemingly mundane excursion can be extremely interesting.

Laura Cococcia: You also authored the book Breast Cancer Husband: How to Help Your Wife (and Yourself) during Diagnosis, Treatment and Beyond. What was the most rewarding part of writing this memoir? The most challenging?

Marc Silver: It was an incredible experience to interview many other husbands (and their wives) to learn more about the complicated and confusing role of caregiver. With a year to work on the project, I was able to get past all my preconceptions. I met incredibly courageous people.

The most challenging task was to do justice to all of these cancer survivors and cancer husbands, from their dark sense of humor to their devotion to each other. Plus it was difficult to spend a year obsessed with cancer topics. But the result has been quite rewarding. I hear from people that my book helped them get through the cancer experience. A writer can’t ask for anything more than that.

Laura Cococcia: What expert advice do you have for aspiring writers – or even established ones – to keep up their writing practice or sharpen their skills?

Marc Silver: I still love print journalism, even as it goes through tough times. It’s a challenge to think of stories that haven’t been done before and figure out how to present them to our readers. When I do report a story, I’m always excited to talk to very smart people and learn from their insights. One thing I realized early in my career is that it’s okay to admit that I know nothing and want to hear what the experts have to say. That’s still true today.

I am also a fan of blogging, and National Geographic has let me blog as “Pop Omnivore,” looking at how popular culture covers science, archaeology, and other topics of interest to National Geographic. I think it’s important to do a bit of research before blogging. So I get to meet even more excellent sources.

I enjoy the challenge of having a fast turnaround (quite different from the many weeks that stories are in production for the magazine). The feedback from readers is quite gratifying as well. I’ve blogged about everything from America’s Next Top Model (interviewing an expert on female circumcision after a contestant confessed that she had been circumcised as a girl) to the origins of “Pi Day.”

Many thanks to Marc Silver for sharing his thoughts, insights and experiences as a writer. Now I want to write for National Geographic even more than I did before.

“Pop Omnivore” is at: http://ngm.typepad.com/blog_central/pop-omnivore/
Read more about Silver’s novel at: Breast Cancer Husband.

Tagged as: Book Reviews, Global Cultures, Interviews, Laura Cococcia, Travel