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Doug Mack on Muck Rack

Doug Mack

Minneapolis
As seen in: The New York Times, TIME, SFGate, Slate, Lonely Planet, Newsday, South Florida Sun Sentinel, Literary Hub, Belt Magazine
Covers:  Travel, food, history, design, culture, various topics relating to Americana beyond mythology.
Doesn't Cover: Breaking news.
bsky.app/profile/douglasmack.bsky.social // Book: The Not-Quite States of America // Agreeably nerdy food history newsletter: snackstack.net // He/him

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Doug Mack’s Biography

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I'm a freelance writer and author focusing on travel, food, history, cultural commentary, and personal narratives. Most of my work falls into the general "travel" category but goes far beyond service journalism. My goal is to capture the complicated layers of a place by way of a specific topic (a restaurant, a song, a moment in history) and thorough research, and thoughtful, empathetic conversations with the people who live there.

My books:
*The Not-Quite States of America (Norton), a travelog…

Doug Mack’s Journalist Portfolio

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The Communities That Disappear When Restaurants Close

The Communities That Disappear When Restaurants Close

Local restaurants can serve as a vital "third place" for people to gather, away from their homes and workplac…

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Interpreting America at the Minsk Book Fair

Interpreting America at the Minsk Book Fair

In early 2020, just before the Covid-19 pandemic spread around the world, I traveled to Belarus to represent …

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Why are journalists always visiting diners in Trump country? | The Counter

Why are journalists always visiting diners in Trump country? | The Counter

The "Rust Belt Diner" genre of journalism isn't new. But it has changed since 2016-underscoring the hardening…

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People in U.S. Territories Can't Vote in This Election-but Here's What They Have to Tell the Next...

People in U.S. Territories Can't Vote in This Election-but Here's What They Have to Tell the Next...

More than 3.5 million people live in the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the …

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What It Means to Miss the Minnesota State Fair - The Statesider

What It Means to Miss the Minnesota State Fair - The Statesider

Fair superfan Doug Mack reflects on the loss of a singular event where entertainment and state pride collide …

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The wild history of the Memphis Pyramid - Lonely Planet

The wild history of the Memphis Pyramid - Lonely Planet

The Memphis Pyramid was always going to be a big deal. That was the point. But...things got weird.

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Articles

When restaurants close, even temporarily, what happens to the communities that rely on them?

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By Doug Mack
| thecounter.org
Local restaurants can serve as a vital “third place” for people to gather, away from their homes and workplaces. When these spots shutter, the loss is keenly felt. Annelies McMorran opened her restaurant, Anna Lee’s, in 1983, with a sense of community built into the business plan.
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Why are journalists always visiting diners in Trump country?

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By Doug Mack
| thecounter.org
by Doug Mack 10.22.2020, 1:59pm Steph Chambers/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP The “Rust Belt Diner” genre of journalism isn’t new. But it has changed since 2016—underscoring the hardening of symbolic lines between an mythic “Real America” and the rest of the nation. Here’s a story: A Presidential candidate makes a campaign stop at the Chat and Chew, a diner in a Rust Belt town that’s long been a Democratic stronghold but has started to trend more Republican.
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People in U.S. Territories Can’t Vote in This Election—but Here’s What They Have to Tell the Next President

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By Doug Mack
| Slate Verified
Politics Residents of America’s overseas territories won’t get to pick the next president, but here’s what they have to say to him. Photo illustration by Slate. Photos by PeterHermesFurian/iStock/Getty Images Plus and Srikanta H. U/Unsplash. Slate's Who Counts? series is made possible by the support of Slate Plus members and readers like you.
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Interview

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What does it mean to be a journalist?

I try to make sense of the world by reporting and writing true stories about it.

How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?

Email me with a short description of the piece, including word count.

What's your favorite social network?

Twitter.

Awards

Lowell Thomas Award (Society of American Travel Writers)

2012 - Travel Book

Bronze Award for the book Europe on Five Wrong Turns a Day.