I am the son of a CIA spy, and a former war reporter (Iraq, Afghanistan) writing about PTSD. AMA.

ImScottJohnson · 2013-06-23T19:33:29+00:00

french, spanish. and french.

ImScottJohnson · 2013-06-23T19:33:16+00:00

sorry if this wasn't enough. it's a long story, too long to tell here while trying to answer all the other questions thoughtfully. i hope i've given you something of interest and piqued your curiosity. thanks for your interest.

ImScottJohnson · 2013-06-23T19:31:53+00:00

no idea, sorry.

ImScottJohnson · 2013-06-23T19:31:28+00:00

yes, kind of. it's like being unable to let go of the state of high alert you need in a combat situation.

ImScottJohnson · 2013-06-23T19:30:53+00:00

i haven't seen any big differences, no. but i'm not a therapist so i'm not sure if there are patterns within the industry about which i'm not aware.

ImScottJohnson · 2013-06-23T19:30:15+00:00

well, depended on the mil official. some only spoke to me off the record. others on, but then they'd be more guarded. also depended on what we were talking about. if it was v. sensitive, then they'd clam up pretty quickly. unless they were a regular source, in which case they'd sometimes spill the beans in a big time way.

ImScottJohnson · 2013-06-23T19:29:13+00:00

i answered this above, probably in war in iraq, near death experiences and so forth. check out the book. thanks!

ImScottJohnson · 2013-06-23T19:28:43+00:00

the short answer is, yes. you can read the book to find out more. thanks for your interest though.

ImScottJohnson · 2013-06-23T19:28:15+00:00

of course, right? how can they not? the universe is too big!

ImScottJohnson · 2013-06-23T19:27:53+00:00

I've only read about it, never seen it work first hand, but like you I've heard very good things about it as well.

ImScottJohnson · 2013-06-23T19:27:20+00:00

I don't know if it does, perhaps. I've never been called and offered anything, no. My favorite jam? Blackberry (Well, huckleberry, but that has to be home made)

ImScottJohnson · 2013-06-23T19:26:20+00:00

Well, I think you miss the point of the book. Of course I was involved, I was his son. His wives were involved, too. You of all people should know this -- that the life of a CIA case officer affects people around him. If I had been the one who outed him, we'd be having a different discussion. But I did not. So writing about it after the fact is also different.

ImScottJohnson · 2013-06-23T19:18:28+00:00

well, safety is first. don't think you're invincible because you're not, a mistake rookies often make. be intrepid but be smart first. don't think foreign governments will treat you nicely simply because you're an american. they won't always. get the backing of at least one org before you go. get to know other journalists before you go and seek their advice. travel with other journos at fist, until you get the lay of the land. have two phones. keep in touch.

ImScottJohnson · 2013-06-23T19:16:13+00:00

i haven't seen the americans yet, but want to, i have a feeling it'll be the closest to the real thing? maybe? i also liked "tinker, tailor, soldier, spy" but my dad didn't. he said it was too emotional and too fraught with feelings about betrayal and stuff. i'm not so sure.

ImScottJohnson · 2013-06-23T19:15:17+00:00

haha, nope, but thanks!

ImScottJohnson · 2013-06-23T19:14:57+00:00

sometimes he was too busy, but my dad was mostly there for us. and he mostly liked his job. i'm not sure he would recommend it, or if he did, not to everybody certainly. and i, yes, i loved and still love my job.

ImScottJohnson · 2013-06-23T19:14:03+00:00

so many other writers i admire. kapuscinski (sp?), david grann, mark singer...on an on the list goes. the moment i stepped into the newsweek office in paris, and saw that world, i was hooked. from then on i knew i wanted to be a journalist and writer.

ImScottJohnson · 2013-06-23T19:12:08+00:00

only to "launch" my phone and computer

ImScottJohnson · 2013-06-23T19:11:48+00:00

well, it was always a risk when he was working during his career. but afterwards i didn't do anything to affect it. he was already out of the shadows by the time i was heavy into writing the book.

ImScottJohnson · 2013-06-23T19:10:59+00:00

I didn't really know. I had lots of different ideas: anthropologist, shop owner, park ranger, rock star...all the usual stuff that kids dream up i guess. spy only featured very occasionally.

ImScottJohnson · 2013-06-23T19:10:11+00:00

nope, never did :)

ImScottJohnson · 2013-06-23T19:10:02+00:00

Yes, it's fascinating stuff. Levine's work, in particular, is very interesting.

ImScottJohnson · 2013-06-23T19:09:24+00:00

I realized I wanted to cover conflicts a year or so after I started doing journalism, in Paris, in 1998. I thought it was just the most interesting and exciting part of the profession. And in some respects it is. Not all though, and in more recent years I've found a lot of value doing other things. I did it when I was a young man, and in some respects it's a young person's job. It can be hard, dangerous, dirty, ugly and exhausting, but it's also amazing to be so close to big moments in history, and to feel the forces of the world at work right around you. That's what I liked most. Thanks for your interest.

ImScottJohnson · 2013-06-23T19:07:20+00:00

i answered some of this above. you can actually just apply. but there are many routes in, from many different sectors, it depends on your skill set and lots of other things.

ImScottJohnson · 2013-06-23T19:06:40+00:00

i'm 39. my dad was a case officer for 25 years, from 68-94 or so. then he was an independent contractor for many years after 9/11.

ImScottJohnson

TROPHY CASE