About Me and Contact Information

Contact: behindthebites [at] gmail.com

Who I am

My first professional experience started in the journalism business in 1997. I have worked at the Associated Press, Newsday and Bloomberg News.  During my time with those great organizations I covered just about every type of story imaginable. I have worked in every major department of the news business and have created some sort of project for most of the memorable news stories of the last 15 years. I have also been part of many special interest stories such as the effects of a drug on the body or the separation of conjoined twins.

The topics are irrelevant.

Through a combined mastery of technology, writing and artistic ability, I can sculpt information into a work of art. That work of art serves as an entry point to more information. The foundation of my skills is the ability to research and report, which is the foundation of journalism and a natural place for me to pursue a career.

Great painters and illustrators create art that entertains. I create art that informs, like a written story, but it entertains like a painting. I use a number of programs designed for graphics and the internet to create visuals but I do not consider myself a graphic artists nor some type of web programmer.

I write visually.

In May of 2010 I left journalism to pursue a new career in food. This blog is what has emerged. It is the story of what I have been cooking. It can be manipulated to be viewed in a all types of media - books, magazines, newspapers, computers, phones or anything with a view screen. The entry point to every post is a photo driven information graphic that presents a recipe. The information graphic says it all, in an instant the reader knows what this blog is about and what information they are about to consume. If they chose, the viewer can read further about the dish, view more photos and even watch a video. They can click around and view other recipes, search for a certain dish and find links to other places on the web.

I have created everything contained in this blog except a couple of videos that are important to the over all point of the post. Working in the competitive business of journalistic storytelling I have picked up a combination of skills that culminate in this blog. I am not the best reporter, writer, graphic artist, graphics editor, news editor, photographer, web programmer, art director, or copy editor. But I have a high degree of knowledge in all of those disciplines. As a visual journalist I had to learn all of these skills to compete and to get paid.

If you have a topic, product or story that needs an information graphic, blog or website like this and want to discuss it with me, or if you are a publication interested in purchasing my work I can be reached at the e-mail address listed above.

Some favorite clips from over the years