“Good writers are often just plain ol’ writers who go the extra mile and then a few more.”
- Mark Kramer, Wendy Call, “Telling True Stories”
Catalytic converters are the coolest car parts that get no respect
Despite being fascinating, breakthrough innovations, they were hated when first introduced, and are now routinely stolen for scrap.
Hidden external speakers are changing the soundscape of our streets
One of the most noticeable changes we’ll experience with more electric vehicles will be the noises from their acoustic vehicle alert systems, or AVAS.
How one executive’s crappy day doomed the branding of the Ford Edsel
It’s tempting to impose your personal opinion when you’re the highest-paid person in the room. Here’s a cautionary tale.
How creative marketing saved the NFL’s yellow first down line
The best defense is a strong offense. SportVision a perfect example of how an aggressive, creative marketing approach wins business.
Eagles fans booed Santa decades ago. Why won’t that story go away?
Why did Eagles fans boo and throw snowballs at Santa Claus? More importantly, why do we still talk about it today? It’s actually a fascinating marketing case study.
Celebrity body part insurance policies, from head to toe
A lot of content marketing efforts publish very surface level content. I simply can't operate that way, and this article for an insurance client is a testament to that.
7 simple metaphors to explain content marketing
Content marketing often gets overcomplicated, but it's a simple idea: give people the substance they're seeking and they will come to you.
Will content marketing ever be considered journalism?
Only if journalists stop ignoring it, and content marketers stop acting like marketers.
What's the real ratio of PR reps to journalists?
And what do those terms even mean anymore?
Want to really improve election coverage? Do less
After Trump's election, the media's asking how they missed the story. They didn't. They distorted it.
Stop blaming the internet for killing newspapers. Start blaming editors.
The media blames all newspapers' problems on the Internet and technology, as if the medium is the message. It's time we recognized that much of what newspapers produce should be improved, not preserved.
Two Atlantic City clubs serve niche of tourists with a wild side
This was probably the toughest story I ever had to publish. Not because of anything to do with the content - because I had to fight with my old school, conservative editors for a year before they would print it.
Mullica Township cranberry farm the last of its kind in Atlantic County
I wrote this article in 2011 for The Press of Atlantic City. I had been writing about the local cranberry economy for a few years, and was looking for a new angle when I discovered this little farm that even locals didn't know about.
Outcome of federal court case could sour New Jersey's wine industry
There were a number of times while I was at The Press of Atlantic City that I broke statewide news and became the only reporter regularly covering that topic. This was one of those ongoing stories.
Bald eagles making comeback in New Jersey
New Jersey’s eagle population has been rebounding for decades now, a major conservation and environmental success story.
New Jersey's sand mining industry provides some of the country's best sand, but finds itself in an economic slump
I loved finding fascinating stories that no other publications had written about, especially those that were hiding in plain sight. This was one of those that my editors didn't think would turn into anything, but somehow I made sand fascinating.
Conditions for blueberry pickers under scrutiny at area farms
This watchdog article took me several months to gather data from federal agencies and interview dozens of farmers. It was the first time my newspaper ever took an in-depth look at how often area farms violated labor laws.
Meet the bladderwort. Carnivorous aquatic plant of the pines intrigues botanists.
Living throughout southern New Jersey are more than a dozen varieties of a carnivorous, aquatic plant called bladderwort, a favorite of Charles Darwin's that still intrigues scientists today.
Thrills, tradition at Long Beach Island fishing tournament
This was the most personally meaningful article I wrote as a reporter, because my grandfather participated in the LBI fishing tournament for decades, and I wrote this the year after he passed away.
"Oh my goodness, this isn't a Wawa!"; Old locations retain familiar look even as restaurants, Laundromat
Most of my best story ideas stem from the same initial thought: "What's up with that?" In this case, it lead to a very popular article in which I coined the term "Ghost Wawas."