jonathan bender

kansas city, MO USA
Website: http://web.mac.com/jonathanbender
Contact

Professional Experience

On job applications, I note that I'm a writer. But I'm really a journalist/blogger/humorist/copywriter. A journoggercopyiterist, who thankfully has one poorly working cell phone to accomplish all those tasks. I currently live and work in Kansas City, MO, where I blog daily for The Kansas City Star and freelance for Kansas City magazine. As I recent transplant from Brooklyn, NY, I still write regularly for the New York Post and New York Metro. I'm also a contributor to The Onion. In addition, I pen features for AOL's Find A Job and work as a corporate blogger for the brand development company, The Halo Group. Prior to my freelancing career, I was a staff reporter for the Independent Newspaper Group (a community paper just outside Boston, MA) for two years. You can also see my work online at http://web.mac.com/jonathanbender.

Expertise

Copywriter
4 Years
Reporter
7 Years
Other, Specify
4 Years

Specialty

Business (general)
6 Years
Food
2 Years
Lifestyle
6 Years

Industries


Advertising agency
4 Years
Magazine - Large Consumer/National magazines
2 Years
Newspaper - National
4 Years

Total Media Industry Experience

7 Years

Media Client List (# assignments last 2 yrs)

AOL.com (6-10), New York Post (6-10), New York Metro (6-10)

Corporate Client List (# assignments last 2 yrs)

The Halo Group (10+)

Other Work History

Staff writer with the Independent Newspaper Group. Editorial assistant with Allyn & Bacon.

Technical Skills

I am familiar with Adobe Photoshop, Publisher Pro, and Quark Express.

Foreign Language Skills

Rudimentary Spanish

Computer Skills

I am proficient in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, ACT, OS 10, Windows XP, and Internet research.

Equipment

I have my own digital camera, scanner, iMac, MacBook, and audio recorder.

References

Available on request

Awards

Winner of Stella Artois Valentine's Poetry Contest 2003, Winner of Randolph Edmonds Essay Contest, 2000

Showcase

General

Chipping Away
(Seriouseats.com 3/8/2007)
With artisan potato chips showing the same detailed preparation and ingredient experimentation as micro-brews and independent wineries, it was only natural that Serious Eats would hold a tasting. Eating 11 varieties of chips is not something we'd recommend.
The Virtues of Being a Generalist
(The Writer 1/1/2008)
The only way to establish yourself as a freelancer is to be a generalist- to have the ability to change direction and constantly pursue new opportunities. This gives a blueprint for how to find success with my own career choices as a guide.
Amuse Bouche
(Kansas City Magazine 9/1/2007)
It's not often you see a lotus flower in Kansas City. Or two, for that matter. The red lotus flower on Eric Copeland's left forearm flashes in front of a bar patron as he shakes up one of the coffee martinis that have become a standard at Cafe Trio.
Confessions of a Nanny
(AOL.com 8/27/2007)
Anne Arnold was fresh out of college and a nanny. She thought she could handle 15-hour workdays and being one of the six servants in an Italian manor. It was when she suspected the family of laundering money that she decided there were easier (and less dangerous) ways to become fluent in Italian.
Toy Story
(New York Post 7/23/2007)
Employees can't subsist on inspirational posters alone. And thanks to advances in cube technology, art, and Wi-Fi enabled rabbits, they don't have to anymore.
A Boy Can Dream
(Women's Health Magazine 2/1/2008)
In the time my wife has known me, I have launched two unsuccessful side businesses, failed to apply for patents on three life-changing inventions, and while planning to build a miniature-golf course, amassed a stack of videocassettes that would make a porn enthusiast blush.
Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto
(New York Metro 12/5/2007)
Gordon Bennett is into heavy metal- the kind found in old floor buffers and plumbing fixtures. Bennett, 55, is the artist behind Brooklyn's Bennett Robot Works, where he makes robot sculptures out of found metal objects.