What do you do for a living?

I am a content manager and correspondent for ABC News. I cover politics and technology – though I cover much less now that it is a non-campaign year. And, I’m learning a lot from the seasoned journalists that I work with – I’m low on the totem pole here, and covered much more in my previous job. I’m sure this will change come 2012 Presidential cycle.

When you were a kid what did you always dream of becoming?

I probably didn’t have the insight to really know what I wanted. As an adolescent – like EVERY adolescent – I played in punk bands and wanted to be Jello Biafra or Henry Rollins.

Where did you first hear about Disqus?

Hrm, no idea – probably a late-night solution patrol for Wordpress features. This, however, is unremarkable – what I enjoyed about the service was the personal attention to detail by the staff.

What’s your one favorite feature in Disqus?

The reduction in barriers to entry for reader/user participation – the easier it is for people to interact on a blog post correlates directly to the number of comments on blog posts. This, in turn, helps build community.

Is there anything that you would change or add to Disqus?

The major issue I have with Disqus and many services is that I have to install a code – I’m very comfortable with code, but abhor widgets, javascript code beyond tracking, and any service that does not integrate as white label or function as a core part of the platform. This is NOT a knock on Disqus at all, but rather a differentiation between the types of sites that I need to run for clients and myself. Disqus is great and I recommend it to friends frequently.

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa – my family is from New Jersey, New Hampshire, and Brooklyn – I attended college in Spearfish, South Dakota at Black Hills State University and studied under Ahrar Ahmad and Dave Diamond, I lived in California for two years before returning to complete a second and third degree at BHSU. I moved from South Dakota to Brooklyn in 2007

What influenced you to begin your career in the news? Was there a defining moment?

I’ve always been in to news and politics. My parents always subscribed to the newspaper, and some of my earliest memories are watching the nightly news – followed (maybe aptly) by MASH. I was a paper carrier in junior high. When traveling with family, I was exposed to very poor parts of the country – my parents made a point to show us seedy parts of Brooklyn, the Pine Ridge and Rose Bud Lakota reservations. We would talk about cultural marginalization and taught empathy for those less fortunate. I’m sure I was radicalized at a formative age by punk rock + skate culture, but always valued education (though HS grades sucked and I hate elitism). I was fortunate to have very qualified professors in college who helped me refine my radicalism in to a more articulate form.

I started podcasting in mid-2004 with the Creepy Sleepy Show – prior to that I was involved in radio and geek culture, but Creepy Sleepy let myself a rotating cast to explore topics sans censorship. This lead to doing citizen journalism and covering the South Dakota Abortion Ban in 2006 – I was the only podcaster or Blogger given access, which taught me both the power of new media, AND the importance of good solid journalism – it taught me that not matter how passionately one feels about a given topic, there are others who feel just as passionately about the opposition, and they frequently have valid points. It taught me that it’s not enough to just simple scream “this is MY opinion” – EVERYone has opinions, why is YOUR opinion valid – and if one cannot answer that question in ways that hold of to standard litmus tests of respect, credibility, due diligence – then their opinion is ONLY opinion.

In your career as a correspondent, is there one project that stood out among others?

I was hired after the Abortion Ban by my former employer, Talk Radio News, in New York, to cover the UN and campaign – I also traveled internationally, saw terrible terrible things, and learned that for injustice to be overcome, one MUST be balanced internally and aware of ones own failings – this helps you value objectivity, learining all sides of an issue, and that without the trust of an audience, there is no point to reporting. No, there isn’t one project that stands out as more formative than the others. I try hard to make sure that my life experiences add up to something that I, my family, my teachers/mentors, and colleagues can respect.

The campaign was exhilarating and exhausting, and Darfur left some pretty deep scars. Those things I do remember. The UN as well, but less dramatically. The campaign is an exercise in both the best of American ideas, and the worst of American narcissism. Darfur left both an emotional and literal, visual impact – it’s very hard not to feel conflicted about drinking the last drops of water in front of people who are starving and being shot/raped – knowing that if you do NOT drink the last water, any resource that remains will cause a riot resulting in injury or death. Also, when big dudes point AK47s at you, it’s hard to forget.

In your opinion, has commenting effected the world of online publishing?

We are fortunate in that we live in an age of media transition. We have not figured everything out, but we are lucky in that WE get to help solve these problems. I believe a few things:

1. Humans are inherently social creatures
2. Humans desire to communicate for several reasons – primarily to transfer information and for emotional gratification.

Previously, we simply did not have the necessary tools that would facilitate rapid two-way communication, so we made due with what we had. Now, we can easily and cheaply communicate with each other and this has lead to a plethora of opportunities for different types of communication. They key word here is ‘different’ – not better, not worse – just different. Social Media has it’s problems, just like traditional media.

Social Media has it’s problems, just like traditional media. These are not insurmountable problems, but they are problems none the less. Because of this, I try to remember the classic Spiderman line: “with great power comes great responsibility” – just because we’re the new, hot shit does not mean we also do not have responsibility for our actions. Yes, we can comment on blogs, twitter, facebook, et al – but what we say and how we act reflects on both person and our medium. Social media reduces the distance and friction between humans and other humans and information. These are tools, just like newspapers and broadcast towers. They must be used responsibly. Additionally, the Long Tail is powerful – but the Long Tail still needs a Head. Well, it doesn’t NEED a head, but there will ALWAYS be blockbusters – with or without the internet. Some things do NOT have a business model built in, yet are necessary functions of society. We have three branches of government under the current Federal system – often Media is called the Fourth Estate. This is because the media will serve as a check on the other branches of government. This is, undoubtedly, an essential civic service (not to mention the important cultural role media plays). Having said that, business models are changing and the means by which Media has funded itself is changing. Just because media used to make more money, does not make it any less relevant. We still need communication and dialog between people, the People’s government, and the organizations that report on people and government. These things cost money. Are they entitled to make money? No. But do we want to live in a society that can’t afford to do journalism like Bob Woodward did, or that requires travel to under reported areas? I’m willing to bet most people answer ‘no, we don’t want to give up good journalism.

To learn more about Dan visit his website, twitter, or Disqus Profile.

Giannii
DISQUS
Community Manager
giannii@disqus.com