WRITING AND EDITING

“Self-expression without craft is for toddlers. Real artistic accomplishment requires a suspension of certitude.” – Rosanne Cash

“Who follows another follows nothing. He finds nothing, and indeed is seeking nothing.” – Montaigne

My name is Jon Sobel. I’m a writer and editor with decades of experience in the digital world. Depending on the situation, I work in different ways:
• on a purely freelance basis
• through my firm, Oren Hope Marketing & Copywriting
• on staff – in 2020, for example, I held a contract position at the Center for Reproductive Rights

In 2022 I became Editor-in-Chief of Disruptor.news, a startup publication dedicated to innovation-driven disruption in technology, business and culture. The site officially launches in Fall 2022.

I’m Publisher and Executive Editor of Blogcritics, a general-interest online magazine covering arts and culture. I also edit Blogcritics’ Culture section which includes the magazine’s theater coverage along with business, politics, science and technology, travel, sports, fashion, fine arts, religion, social activism, and other topics. As a writer I’ve contributed over 1,700 articles and reviews to the site since 2004.

I reported on theater for Classicalite.com.

I’ve worked as a freelance writer for the New York Post. Here’s a sample.

I’ve freelanced for The Morton Report, reporting on what’s happening in New York City, with a focus on the intersection of theater and pop culture. My articles are archived here.

I’m a theater critic, a music critic, even a TV critic, and a blogger. Most of my reviews are published at Blogcritics. Excerpts and shorter theater reviews have appeared at Show Showdown.

My main personal blog, Park Odyssey, is devoted to visiting and documenting all of the parks in New York City.

I was a staff editor at Book of Odds, for which I wrote over 100 articles.

I wrote a column called Language Matters in Life and Business about the language of marketing, and contributed to the Oren Hope marketing blog, Marketing: The Business of Life. Our freelance practice, Oren Hope Marketing & Copywriting, specializes in creating and editing marketing materials for industries including entertainment, technology, finance, and retail.

Samples of our marketing copy can be found below and at the Oren Hope website.

WRITING SAMPLES

Business/Marketing
– Article: “No ‘Better Opportunity’ Than This Gold Explorer”
– Accounting firm website
– Barbra Streisand press release
– Office furniture dealership website
– Emanuel Ax press release
– Software developer website
– Band biography
– Filmmaker press release

Technology and the Internet
– Article: This B2B Tech Company ‘Looks Like an Immediate Buy’
– Report on developer survey for app developer platform (PDF)
– Password Security

Music, Theater, Arts
For the largest and most updated selection of reviews and articles, see my writer page at Blogcritics.

Some highlights:
– Concert Review: Gala Concert for the 2020 Azrieli Music Prizes (Montreal/Livestream, 22 October 2020)
– Theater Review: Tonya Pinkins in ‘The School for Wives’ – Livestream from Molière in the Park
– Bravo! Vail Mobile Stage Brings Chamber Music to the Vail Valley During Pandemic Summer
– Theater Review (NYC): Cyndi Lauper and Harvey Fierstein’s Kinky Boots on Broadway
– Interview: Megan Hilty of NBC’s Smash on Her Debut Album
– Interview: Ian Anderson on His Upcoming ‘Jethro Tull – The Rock Opera’ Tour, the Original Jethro Tull, and the State of the World
– Women in Film (partial)
– Can Megaplexes Save Opera? (partial)
– The Child Ballads: Anaïs Mitchell and Jefferson Hamer Reboot Centuries-Old Songs
– The Lady and the Amps: The All Points West Festival

Travel
– Two Weeks in Chile
– Berlin: A Journey Into Modern History
– Park Odyssey: Visiting the New York City Parks – Every Last One of Them
– Eight Days in Argentina
– Nine Days in Wales
– New Orleans: City of Music, Food, and Beautiful Houses
– Two Weeks in Greece

Health
– Food and Cancer (partial)
– Pollen Follies: Allergy Season in Full Bloom

Sports
– NBA Hall of Fame: The Honorable Odds
– Vancouver 2010: The Icy Odds of Olympic Glory
– Autistic Teen’s March Madness Perfect Bracket: Putting the Odds in Perspective (partial)

Reporting and Commentary
– Wall Street, Occupied
– Disunited States (partial)
– How George Gallup Picked the President (partial)
– Hooligans and Woodchucks: The Roots of the English Language (partial)
– Here’s a Shocker: People Lie on Their Online Dating Profiles (partial)
– Barbie Bandits and Bling Rings: A Fresh Crop of Female Criminals
– Audubon’s Aviary: Portraits of Endangered Species
– Walking the Plank in New York City
– The Second Amendment: Wrong Centerpiece for the Gun Debate
– Descent into the Past: The Atlantic Avenue Tunnel

Books, Literature, Writing
– Column: Language Matters in Life and Business
– Book Review: ‘The Memory Monster’ by Yishai Sarid
– News: Len Cariou in Video Sonnet on Shakespeare’s 450th Birthday
– Review: ‘The Collected Novellas of Stefan Zweig’
– Review: ‘Captivity’ by György Spiró
– Review: ‘Bernstein Meets Broadway: Collaborative Art in a Time of War’ by Carol J. Oja
– Review: ‘The Girls of Murder City’ by Douglas Perry
– Review: ‘Words That Work’ by Frank Luntz
– Review: ‘Subtly Worded’ – Short Stories by Teffi
– Obituary: Richard Matheson

Contact me:
– Email: orenhope at gmail dot com
– Mobile: 347-306-0217
– LinkedIn

EDUCATION: Harvard University, BA in English and American Language and Literature