#MediaMonday – Joe McHugh
Today’s #MediaMonday comes to us from Joe McHugh, a staff writer — now video editor — for Times Media Group.
What outlets in the Times Media Group umbrella do you write for these days?
My main beat for the past year has been working specifically in the West Valley, in which we have three papers that serve the area — West Valley View, Peoria Times and the Glendale Star. It has been an awesome time getting to know all of the wonderful people in the West Valley and experiencing all of the exciting happenings!
Tell us how you ended up at TMG? What is your career journey?
Times Media Group is actually the first stop on my journey. I interned with the company back in 2021 during the lockdown of COVID and really fell in love with the people and the work that I did. I decided to stick around a bit and freelance while I finished up school, and then after graduation, I took the summer off and started working at TMG in October of 2022.
What kinds of stories do you prefer to be pitched?
I am a die-hard sports fan, specifically football, so anything to do with that topic in particular — whether that be at the high school level, or all the way to the pros — is an insta-write for me. Originally going to school for sports journalism, I never thought I would like to write anything other than that, but TMG has really opened my eyes to a world much bigger than a baseball or football field. I slowly began to enjoy writing about local happenings, as I would see just how much it meant to the people that would read it, so local features or general human-interest stories also became really fun to write.
Where did you grow up?
I am originally from Southern California, growing up in a town called Mission Viejo. I usually find myself back there to visit my family a handful of times a year — more often than not in the summer to avoid the blazing Arizona heat!
Favorite color?
Kind of a weird one whenever I tell people, but its purple! Something about the various shades it produces to just the general feel of the color, I love it!
Favorite TV shows or movies?
I would classify myself as a TV show buff, often trying to find out which ones are in my “top 10” list, but at the top of the list is a show from my childhood called Avatar: The Last Airbender. It was my favorite show while I was growing up, and I have watched it over 30 times by now, and I still find new things to like about it. Other shows that I would say are my favorites are Naruto, Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones and The Boys.
Favorite local restaurants, golf courses or other haunts?
I love to golf! I try to go out as often as I can, but some of my favorite courses are TPC Scottsdale, Troon North, Aguila Golf Course and Encanto Golf Course. In terms of food places around the Valley, I really like a sushi place in Downtown Phoenix called Harumi — it’s the bomb — as well as Culinary Dropout and Venezia’s Pizza. Other places that I love to go are Mill’s Modern Social — since they have pool and I love to play pool — and Taco Bell always hits the spot whenever I need a quick bite.
Contact Info: jmchugh@timeslocalmedia.com
