- Courtesy of Dan Rubin.
Daniel Rubin has been apart of The Inquirer since 1988; as long as most of us have been alive. His reach extends outside of the United States, and into 27 countries. He’s the European Correspondent for Knight Ridder Newspapers in Berlin, and metro reporter and feature writer for the Inquirer. He also started the first blog “Blinq”. His alma mater is Northwestern University; so he knows a thing or two about the ups and downs of small town journalism and branching out. He is also a professor of urban journalism at the University of Pennsylvania. In this Q&A he provides insight into what common mistakes journalists make and his own journey in his successful journalism career.Since beginning your journalism career in 1988 you’ve traveled 27 countries reporting as was a European correspondent for The Inquirer, the creator of Blinq, weekly writer for The Inquirer, and professor at the University of Pennsylvania
What steps did you take to make your reach as broad as it is?
BACK IN 2000 THE INQUIRER HAD AN OPENING FOR ITS LONDON CORRESPONDENT, AND KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS, WHICH OWNED US, HAD THE BERLIN BURO UP FOR GRABS. I REACHED FOR THE LATTER. IT WAS ALWAYS MY DREAM TO TRAVEL A CONTINENT ON SOMEONE ELSE’S DIME, FINDING STORIES IN FAR-FLUNG PLACES AND BRINGING THEM BACK HOME THAT CAPTURED THEM WHOLE. THESE JOBS ARE GONE NOW, THE INQUIRER HAS NO MORE FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS, KNIGHT RIDDER, WHICH WAS THE COUNTRY’S SECOND-BIGGEST NEWSPAPER CHAIN, IS GONE, TOO – IT’S PROPERTIES IN THE HANDS OF MCCLATCHY AND OTHER SMALLER OWNERS. MCCLATCHY KEEPS NO ONE IN EUROPE ANY MORE.
What inspired you to write Blinq?
WHEN I CAME BACK FROM EUROPE, I RETURNED TO MY JOB AT THE INQUIRER, COVERING THE BUSINESS OF ENTERTAINMENT. BLOGS WERE MAKING AND BREAKING NEWS, AND THERE WAS A WHOLE CONVERSATION ABOUT REAL LIFE THAT WAS OCCURING AMONG READERS, AND WE WERE MISSING MOST OF IT. THE EDITOR OF THE PAPER THEN, AMANDA BENNETT, TOLD ME TO COVER THE BLOGOSPHERE FULL-TIME, AND TRY DOING IT ON A BLOG OF MY OWN. WE CAME UP WITH BLINQ, A CONTRACTION, OF BLOG AND INQUIRER. THE WORD SUGGESTS SPEED, AND THIS WAS A WAY TO CAPTURE SEVERAL TIMES A DAY A SNAPSHOT OF WHAT WAS ON PEOPLE’S MINDS AND LET THE READER’S TRAVEL TO PLACES I’D FOUND – BOTH ELSEWHERE ON OUR WEBSITE AND, MORE UNUSUALLY FOR US, OFF THE SITE ON THE WILD, WILD WEB.
Is there a certain allure that keeps you coming back to the Pennsylvania area for reporting?
PHILADELPHIA HAS ALWAYS BEEN A RIDICULOUSLY PROMISCUOUS NEWS TOWN.
What inspired and/or keeps motivating you to teach the art of journalism to students at University of Pennsylvania?
IT’S A WAY TO ENSURE THE NEXT GENERATION OF JOURNALISTS HAVE SOME OF THE VALUES, STANDARDS AND SKILLS THAT WILL SERVE THEM REGARDLESS OF IN WHAT FORM THE NEWS IS DELIVERED.
What exactly is your passion within journalism?
A NOTEBOOK IS LIKE A VISA STAMP ON YOUR PASSPORT – IT’S LETS YOU TRAVEL ANYWHERE WITH THE WIDE-EYED WONDER OF A TOURIST. AND FOR THOSE OF US WHO NEVER WANT TO GROW UP, IT LETS US COMMAND ATTENTION AND ASK QUESTIONS THAT ONLY A CHILD WOULD ASK IN PROPER COMPANY. AND GET ANSWERS.
As a professor are there any common faux pas that you see undergraduates do when they are searching for jobs or internships?
I DON’T KNOW TOO MUCH ABOUT HOW THEY SEARCH FOR JOBS – I WOULD RECOMMEND THEY PICK UP THE PHONE AND KNOCK ON SOME DOORS, NOT JUST SEND A BUNCH OF E-MAILS.
Daniel Rubin can be found, on Blinq, Twitter, and can be read weekly here.
