Dan Bennett
(He/Him)
As seen in:
Medium,
Los Angeles Times,
The San Diego Union-Tribune,
Animation World Network,
Vista Press
Covers:
Reporting on arts, culture, travel, film, music, theater, health, and human interest. Humor and essays. Op-Eds and ghostwriting. Video scripts/voiceovers.
Journalist/Film Critic/Essayist. Dude with Parkinson’s. I hope to someday be known as a forgotten visionary.
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
Community reporter - talking to real people about their lives
Have you ever used a typewriter?
I was born with one attached to my arms
How is social media changing news?
Real time, quick, edgier
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Michael Keaton's character in "The Paper"
What does it mean to be a journalist?
It means sharing accurate information with the people who need it most.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
E-mail
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Ballpoint pen, reporter's notebook, camera, ears, mouth, mostly ears
What's your favorite social network?
Instagram
Who do you wish followed you?
You mean on the street? Food trucks.
Why did you become a journalist?
I enjoy sharing important info with the people who need it most.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
A commentary on my long-awaited music-and-life pilgrimage to Athens, Ga., following a near-death experience.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
The lede is easy. Make the middle of the story just as powerful. Facts and quotes rule.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Just after dawn
What's the best pitch you ever got?
The man with the 200-pound onion growing in his backyard.
What's your favorite drink?
Water. Bubbly or simple.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Coaching baseball, watching a movie, walking in Balboa Park
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
Fast Company
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
When I reviewed films, that I could guess what readers would think of the film. They seem like nice people but I don't know them that well.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.