Behind the Byline features the people bringing us the news – from reporters to producers and podcasters, we interview local members of the media.
Next up, meet Rossilynne Culgan, director of The Incline. If you’re looking for the newest restaurants or coolest events, you should follow Rossilynne. Better yet, meet her in person at The Incline’s two newest event series – Wine-ing About Pittsburgh and Speed Friending. Events are postponed for now, but check out the events page for future dates.
What do you cover or like to write about?
Before becoming director, I was the food and culture editor for The Incline, so I’m always looking for compelling stories about Pittsburgh’s food and culture scene. I started a monthly series where we feature restaurants opening and closing, which has been really popular. I also lead our daily newsletter and run our social media accounts. Once events are back up and running, send it our way! In the meantime, if you’re having a virtual event, we’re adding it to our growing list of cabin-fever activities.
What has been one of your most memorable stories?
Most recently, I was surprised when my story, “Why Pittsburghers add an ‘S’ to the end of words” went viral. It was a fun story to write because I interviewed Pittsburgh Dad, Sally Wiggin and a linguistics professor from the University of Pittsburgh, but overall, Pittsburghers felt really connected to the story and their fellow yinzers. We love finding stories like this that bring people together.
Where are you from and where did you go to school?
I went to Penn-Trafford High School in Westmoreland County. After high school, I ventured off to State College to go to Penn State University where I studied journalism and women’s studies.
What made you decide to become a reporter?
I knew I always wanted to write. Even after l left the news business to work in the marketing department at Carnegie Science Center, I missed it and, luckily, was able to get back to my roots at The Incline.
Where was your first job?
After writing for my college paper, The Daily Collegian, I landed my first job at the Valley News Dispatch, where I met Dan Stefano (The Pittsburgh 100 editor). I’ve also written stories for the Tribune-Review, About.com and Thrillist.
Tell us a fun fact about you.
Ms. Cleocatra is my nebby cat, and she’s always getting into trouble. Check out what she’s up to on her Instagram account – @cleocatracalico.
If people want to share a story idea, where should they send it?
They can share it with me directly at rossilynne@theincline.com. We can’t promise we’ll be able to do a story, but we’re always looking for story ideas, especially ones that inform our community on an important topic or bring the community together! Some of The Incline’s most popular stories are about Pittsburgh’s quirks and charms, naturally, since we all bleed black and gold.
– Robin Rectenwald, WordWrite