#MediaMonday – John D'Anna
I’ve been wracking my brain to remember the first time I pitched a story to John D’Anna of the Arizona Republic. I’ve been pitching media since 1988, so it’s safe to assume it was a long LONG time ago.
John recently took on a new role at the paper and joined the Storytellers team. It seemed appropriate to feature him as one of our #MediaMonday profiles.
I’m sure many of you have interacted with him over the years, but here’s some information you may not know about him.
And .PS. – since these columns are typically first-person accounts and therefore we don’t edit too much, I will let the ASU comment stand. And it pains me to do so.
So John, what should we know about you?
I’m a seasoned (old) journalist who loves to tell stories so much that I recently joined the Arizona Republic storytellers team as a reporter after spending 30 years as an editor.
I once interviewed Morris the Cat (ask your parents) and the governor of California on the same day. It was the only time I’ve ever preferred the company of a cat.
I’ve practiced martial arts for 35 years and play ice hockey – I only like sports where I get to smack the crap out of somebody.
I’m a proud Arizona Wildcat (thought about going to ASU, but they said I already had a high school diploma). I also have an MBA from Benedictine University – Go Fighting Monks! Or whatever their mascot is.
I’m a proud board member of the Arizona First Amendment Coalition and have a healthy loathing for officials who stonewall public records requests or block access to public meetings, which sadly means I loathe a LOT of public officials.
I used to write an irreverent (imagine!) enviro blog, which you can find on the dark web (whatever that is) at azgreenday.wordpress.com.
Please follow me on Twitter @azgreenday – I’m trying to get to 10,000 followers, and I only have 7,500 more to go!
And feel free to answer the following questions as well:
Favorite type of music?
Coltrane, Costello, Clash. Pretty much all the stuff my wife hates.
Favorite local haunts?
Any place with the NHL Channel.
Favorite places to visit?
Any place that’s cooler than Phoenix – in both senses of the word.
Favorite food?
Whatever my cardiologist tells me not to eat anymore.
Favorite book?
Probably Catch-22. Either that or Lord of the Flies. Both pretty much describe my career arc.
