Dan Mitchell

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A journalist with 16 years of experience reporting and writing for newspapers, magazines, and Web publications. I write about business, culture, and politics. Sometimes all at once.

I write a column for The New York Times business section called "What's Online." It appears every Saturday. You can see them here. Stories "Manufacturers Try to Thrive on the Wal-Mart Workout" - New York Times, February 2005 Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and other big-box retailers have taken the upper hand from their suppliers, forcing them to keep prices low, and sometimes even dictating how manufacturers run their businesses. Many companies have suffered. But some, such as lawn-mower maker Toro, have actually done well thanks to the discipline imposed on them by giant corporate shopkeepers. (Printer-friendly version) "Who's afraid of Kmart and Sears? Not Target" - New York Times, November 2004 Two of the most storied names in American retail history combine in an $11.5 billion merger. But will the deal result in anything more than synergies of failure? (Printer-friendly version) "How to Have Fun with Ethanol" - Salon, September 2004 Agribusiness giant Cargill's plans to open an ethanol plant in El Salvador sends politicians scrambling to further protect the domestic market for this dubious product, and to make trade policies even more convoluted. (Printer-friendly version.) "Modern or Classic?" - The Rake, September 2004 A huge record store in my neighborhood splits its rock section in two, raising questions that go beyond inventory logistics into the very core of cultural self-identity. Or something like that. "Out the Inbox" - The Rake, April 2004 A big, Minneapolis-based online pornographer seems to generate a lot of spam. I take that as my starting point for this in-depth look at "affiliate spam," which is responsible for many of the obnoxious messages that now make up about two-thirds of all email. "A Microsofty Goes Bowling" - Business 2.0, January 2001 A Microsoft billionaire buys his way to the top of American bowling, by purchasing the Pro Bowlers Association. (Here's a pdf version of the original magazine article.) "The Lure of the Bean" - National Public Radio Online, September 2001 Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon interviewed a couple of authors about their book on caffeine. That formed the basis for this piece on caffeine's role in society, its effect on the industrial revolution, and how it acts as the fuel of the information economy. "Cajun Culture Slow to Fade" - National Public Radio Online, September 2001 When corny cajun cook Justin Wilson died, I reported this story on the history and culture of cajuns. "Congress Reassesses Tech Office" - Wired News, August 2002 While living in DC, I freelanced this piece for my former employer Wired, on the halfhearted attempt by some in Congress to resurrect the once-venerated Office of Technology Assessment, which had fallen prey to Newt's Contract with America. "Technology Overspending Sowed Seeds for Crash" - Chicago Tribune, April 2001 (pdf) A look at how the technology business helped expand, then helped puncture, the U.S. economy. "Who IS this Guy?" - Wide Open News, December 1999 The open-source operating system Linux was the darling of Wall Street toward the end of the tech boom. Linux firms were going public in droves. Here's an in-depth investigation of perhaps the most interesting, if least solid, of them. (Here's a pdf version.) "Zapata Makes Fishy Offer for Excite" - Red Herring May 1998 (pdf) George H.W. Bush launched fish-oil processor Zapata in the early '50s. In 1998, it suddenly fancied itself an Internet company (but then, who didn't?), and made a notoriously hilarious offer to buy Web giant Excite. This second-day story took a look at the company and its prospects. "Will Wall Street Buy DoubleClick?" - Red Herring February 1998 (pdf) As Internet ad phenom DoubleClick prepared to go public, nobody noticed how heavily it relied on just one customer. Until I did. "Tales of the Odd" - Chicago Tribune, August 1994 (pdf) One of the first interviews with David Sedaris for a major newspaper. "Manson's Family Affair Living in Cyberspace" - Wired News, April 1997 The media declared that Charles Manson "roams free" on the Net. But of course, Charlie don't surf. I tracked down and interviewed the man who did Charlie's surfing for him. George Stimson is a lifelong Manson devotee who became the serial killer's Webmaster. "Members Posted Apocalyptic Warnings on Usenet" - Wired News, March 1997 The day the bodies of the members of the Heaven's Gate cult were discovered in San Diego, I heard on the radio on my way home that the cultists had been Web developers. I immediately got to work, switching my phone line from laptop to telephone and back again all night. My reporting traced the group's strange online activities, and I got a story up by 9 a.m. My work got me invited onto all kinds of TV and radio shows, including the CBC's "As it Happens"; MSNBC; the statewide public-radio network in California; and Nightline. This latter one I declined, because by then I was far too tired and awful-looking to be on national television. "Life is Harsh, and so is Web Marketing" - Wired News, July 1997 Sauza Tequila's online marketing tactics struck one cybercitizen as being more than a little unseemly. So he struck back. "Online Newspapers Jilted by Advertisers" - Wired News, July 1997 I attend the Newspaper Association of America's convention to find out whether anyone had figured out how to make money by publishing a newspaper online. Turned out no one had. Have they yet? "ViaTV Serves up Affordable Video Phone" - Wired News, September 1997 A transcontinental demonstration of a device meant to put teleconferencing in America's living rooms fails to impress.