Andy Dehnart
Encyclopedia
Andy Dehnart is an American
journalist and television critic. He may be best known as reality television
's "longest-standing critic" for his online journalism
, as he's the creator of the genre's first tracking website, RealityBlurred.com. He is a member of the Television Critics Association
.
Currently a contributor of television criticism and cultural journalism to NPR
, The Daily Beast
and msnbc.com
, Dehnart has also written for Salon.com
, Wired.com, The Boston Globe
, Metro
, The Chicago Tribune and Playboy
. He regularly appears on television and the radio to discuss reality TV and popular culture.
He created Reality Blurred in July 2000, and the daily-updated site quickly became a primary source for devotees of the reality TV explosion. The web site has received accolades from entertainment media, with Slate deeming it "the site the best culture weblog dedicated to television" and Entertainment Weekly awarding it an "A." USA Today
named Dehnart one of the Top 100 People in Pop Culture in 2001.
Dehnart earned an MFA in nonfiction writing from Bennington College
, where his non-fiction
studies included a lecture which explored the cultural impact of blog
ging, then a relatively unknown phenomenon in popular culture
.
Dehnart now teaches writing, journalism, and communication studies at Stetson University
in DeLand, Florida
, where he advises the student newspaper. He has also taught for Johns Hopkins University
's Center for Talented Youth
.
Earlier, Dehnart moved to Chicago
in 1999 to work as managing editor of a non-profit website, and later he worked as a producer for thepavement.com, a site for recent college graduates, and BrassRing, a recruiting solutions company. A native of Naples, Florida
, Dehnart received his BS from Stetson, where he majored in journalism and earned minors in political science and religious studies. While an undergraduate, he edited the weekly campus newspaper, The Reporter, for two years; both years, it was named the best private college newspaper in the state of Florida.
Dehnart is openly gay.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
journalist and television critic. He may be best known as reality television
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
's "longest-standing critic" for his online journalism
Online journalism
Online journalism is defined as the reporting of facts when produced and distributed via the Internet.As of 2009, audiences for online journalism continue to grow...
, as he's the creator of the genre's first tracking website, RealityBlurred.com. He is a member of the Television Critics Association
Television Critics Association
The Television Critics Association is a group of approximately 200 United States and Canadian journalists and columnists who cover television programming...
.
Currently a contributor of television criticism and cultural journalism to NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
, The Daily Beast
The Daily Beast
The Daily Beast is an American news reporting and opinion website founded and published by Tina Brown, former editor of Vanity Fair and The New Yorker as well as the short-lived Talk Magazine. The Daily Beast was launched on October 6, 2008, and is owned by IAC...
and msnbc.com
Msnbc.com
msnbc.com is a news website owned and operated as a joint venture by NBCUniversal and Microsoft.In addition to original content from its news staff, msnbc.com is the news website for the NBC News family, with content from the cable television news channel MSNBC, NBC shows such as Today, NBC Nightly...
, Dehnart has also written for Salon.com
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
, Wired.com, The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
, Metro
Metro International
Metro International is a Swedish media company based in Luxembourg that publishes the Metro newspapers. Metro International's advertising sales have grown at a compound annual growth rate of 41% since launch of the first newspaper edition in 1995. It is a freesheet, meaning that distribution is...
, The Chicago Tribune and Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
. He regularly appears on television and the radio to discuss reality TV and popular culture.
He created Reality Blurred in July 2000, and the daily-updated site quickly became a primary source for devotees of the reality TV explosion. The web site has received accolades from entertainment media, with Slate deeming it "the site the best culture weblog dedicated to television" and Entertainment Weekly awarding it an "A." USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
named Dehnart one of the Top 100 People in Pop Culture in 2001.
Dehnart earned an MFA in nonfiction writing from Bennington College
Bennington College
Bennington College is a liberal arts college located in Bennington, Vermont, USA. The college was founded in 1932 as a women's college and became co-educational in 1969.-History:-Early years:...
, where his non-fiction
Non-fiction
Non-fiction is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative work whose assertions and descriptions are understood to be fact...
studies included a lecture which explored the cultural impact of blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
ging, then a relatively unknown phenomenon in popular culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
.
Dehnart now teaches writing, journalism, and communication studies at Stetson University
Stetson University
Stetson University is a private university with four colleges and schools located across the I-4 corridor in Central Florida. The primary undergraduate campus is located in DeLand, Florida, USA. In the 2012 U.S...
in DeLand, Florida
DeLand, Florida
DeLand is the county seat of Volusia County, Florida. In 2006, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population to be 24,375. It is part of the Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated population of 436,575 in 2006...
, where he advises the student newspaper. He has also taught for Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
's Center for Talented Youth
Center for Talented Youth
The Center for Talented Youth is a gifted education program for school-age children, founded in 1979 by Dr. Julian Stanley at Johns Hopkins University. It was initially a research study of the rate at which gifted children can learn new material and became the first program of its kind to identify...
.
Earlier, Dehnart moved to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
in 1999 to work as managing editor of a non-profit website, and later he worked as a producer for thepavement.com, a site for recent college graduates, and BrassRing, a recruiting solutions company. A native of Naples, Florida
Naples, Florida
Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of July 1, 2007, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population at 21,653. Naples is a principal city of the Naples–Marco Island Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated total population of 315,839 on July 1, 2007...
, Dehnart received his BS from Stetson, where he majored in journalism and earned minors in political science and religious studies. While an undergraduate, he edited the weekly campus newspaper, The Reporter, for two years; both years, it was named the best private college newspaper in the state of Florida.
Dehnart is openly gay.