When I was a kid, my favorite episode of Mister Rogers was one during which he broke the fourth wall and explained how his show was created. Ever since then, I’ve been fascinated with learning more about what happens behind the scenes where entertainment and real life intersect. Eventually, I realized I could write about the things that fascinated me. That’s been the foundation of my writing life.
My writing and journalism covers popular culture, media, and technology. I’ve also frequently written about unscripted television. My work as a journalist, critic, essayist, and nonfiction writer has taken me to Gabon, Brazil, and Samoa, where I reported on Survivor. In the Faroe Islands, I reported on the collision of activism, culture, and documentary filmmaking. (That story won a Society for Professional Journalists award and gave me an accidental cameo on Whale Wars.) I also report from my couch, dissecting and thinking about what I’m seeing on television.
My work has been broadcast on NPR’s All Things Considered and Morning Edition, and published in The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Playboy, Pacific Standard, The New York Times, Buzzfeed, The Daily Beast, Salon, Wired, and other publications. I also publish reality blurred, which I created in 2000 as a home for my fascination with reality TV.
I was born in Wisconsin, went to graduate school in Vermont, and lived in Chicago for a few years after college. But I grew up in Florida and still call this amazingly weird state home. I teach creative writing and journalism at Stetson University, and also regularly speak at conferences and work with groups.
I’m available for interviews, media appearances, speaking engagements, or pitches. Just get in touch.
What else? I like to take long walks in nature, run long distances, and eat at Chipotle. I wish I could start or end every day on a roller coaster or thrill ride. I love browsing the Internet and Target, trying new things, traveling to places I’ve never been, and working to become a better person. I re-read Calvin and Hobbes and re-watch The Golden Girls whenever I can. I spend a considerable amount of time staring at my laptop, which is why I like adventures and, most importantly, spending time with people I care about.
If you need like a formal bio, feel free to use any of this:
Andy Dehnart: the formal bio
Andy Dehnart’s writing and criticism about television, culture, and media has appeared on NPR and in The Washington Post, Vulture, Pacific Standard, The Los Angeles Times, GrubStreet, Playboy, HitFix, Buzzfeed, The Daily Beast, and other publications.
Andy publishes and writes reality blurred, which has, since 2000, offered his analysis and reporting on reality television. He’s a member of the Television Critics Association, which represents about 250 U.S. and Canadian journalists and critics who write about television, and was elected to its board of directors in 2018.
Andy, 41, is the coordinator of the journalism program at Stetson University in Florida, where he teaches creative nonfiction and journalism. He has an M.F.A. in nonfiction writing and literature from Bennington College.
Andy regularly speaks at conferences and works with groups to help them strengthen their teams, improve communication, and use social media effectively. He’s a trained improviser who hosts shows and performs as a member of ensembles at SAK Comedy Lab in Orlando, Fla.