BPH PRINT ARTICLES (click any image)
National Public Radio
National Public Radio
National Public Radio
As the national media encamped in Santa Rosa during the 2017 wildfires that ravaged that town, nearby Napa and its $6 billion wine industry was poised on the verge of something apocalyptic -- again.
Mad Magazine
National Public Radio
National Public Radio
This recounting of one of most bizarre Sunday Masses in the history of Catholicism was a finalist for a James Thurber Humor Fellowship. It ultimately finished second, but found a much larger audience in Mad Magazine.
Oprah Magazine
National Public Radio
Oakland Magazine
Armed with years of research that marriage was a bad bet, a heartbroken journalist finds newfound respect for matrimony’s wily ambassador, love, and the way it swaggers with brazen conviction into a game fraught with loaded dice.
Oakland Magazine
Sports Illustrated
Oakland Magazine
When the State of California took over the troubled Oakland Public Schools, the man charged with cleaning up the mess came to be known as "The Superintendent of No."
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Cal All-America defensive end Andre Carter missed neither a game nor a single practice in college. So why are NFL teams still weighing his merits?
Oakland Magazine
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Niman Ranch has bucked all the trends of the meat industry in carving a niche in the finest restaurants in America. Here's the untold story of the company's maverick namesake.
BPH MARCOM (click any image)
Copywriting
The 2% Press Release
The 2% Press Release
A defense contractor that longed to pivot its mission toward the benevolent. A state park-supporting foundation that aimed to personalize a land-purchase campaign. A food bank with full coffers tasked with keeping record donations flowing. A ski resort and casino seeking clever tag lines. Take a look at how I delivered for each of these clients.
The 2% Press Release
The 2% Press Release
The 2% Press Release
Forbes. Editor & Publisher. TechCrunch. All have decried the death of the press release in recent years. One prominent study found that more than 1,700 press releases are issued each day in the U.S., with 98% being roundly ignored. Check out this example of a press release that garnered coverage in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and on CBS Evening News. The secret sauce: Approaching the right reporters at the right time at the right media outlets ... but above all, the storytelling.
Speechwriting
The 2% Press Release
Speechwriting
Speechwriting, done correctly, is the most intimate of all business communications. Assimilating the passions and voice of another is a sobering task, one that I will undertake only with clients that allow me to do a deep dive -- culling the skills of an investigative journalist -- into the issue(s) that form the underpinnings of the speech.
When a retiring North Face executive approached me about penning his retirement speech, I realized that my first task was getting beyond the stoic persona he had projected his entire career.
BPH VIDEOS (click any image)
TV Pilot Trailer
YouTube viral video
TV Pilot Trailer
I wrote, directed and hosted four episodes of a weekend adventure series, Hills & Hops, on KPIX-TV. As this trailer from the pilot episode notes, the series featured the area's best hiking trails -- and the local craft beer companies that make a day on the trails so rewarding.
TV Commercial
YouTube viral video
TV Pilot Trailer
After convincing all five Bay Area food banks to pool their resources for a holiday TV ad that would benefit each of them, I wrote and directed this Telly Award-winning commercial with the specific objective of showcasing the "new face of hunger" -- middle-class residents deeply affected by the economic downturn.
YouTube viral video
YouTube viral video
YouTube viral video
This video was supposed to show how the supply chain of a typical food bank operated . . . but it went viral on the strength of these peanut butter-smearing twins I discovered while researching the client pool for potential on-camera talent. The twins were subsequently featured on Oprah Winfrey's show.
BPH PODCAST & AUDIO (click any image)
2019 Oddcast (my podcast)
2019 Oddcast (my podcast)
2019 Oddcast (my podcast)
My annual four-podcast series surrounding March Madness was thrust into the limelight by this 2019 episode featuring interviews with a Pulitzer Prize-winning, New York Times multiple best-selling author along with one of the nation's most innovative sports journalism professors.
Dark Side of the Moan
2019 Oddcast (my podcast)
2019 Oddcast (my podcast)
On the book tour promoting my memoir, I returned to the studios of Radio DePaul in Chicago, where I was one of the pioneering DJ's when the radio station operated out of a broom closet. This interview centered around the book's most provocative chapter.
Apocalypse Again in Napa
2019 Oddcast (my podcast)
Apocalypse Again in Napa
This is the audio version of my NPR story surrounding the 2017 wildfires that raged on all sides of Napa as I was conducting interviews. The Los Angeles Times facilitated this one-off partnership with Southern California public radio stations.
BPH Testimonials (click any image)
Trailmates
Colleagues/LinkedIn
Trailmates
Although member reviews (like the ones linked here) were discontinued by Meetup in 2017, there remains dozens of unsolicited testimonials to my leadership style on hiking trails.
Readers
Colleagues/LinkedIn
Trailmates
Here's what Amazon reviewers had to say about my 2015 memoir:
A Good Look Before Dark
Colleagues/LinkedIn
Colleagues/LinkedIn
Colleagues/LinkedIn
Here's a look at my professional recommendations on LinkedIn.