David Brinn’s name has been attached to The Jerusalem Post for decades. From humble beginnings working on this very In Jerusalem supplement to being news editor and managing editor, his name is synonymous with journalistic expertise.
There is very little at the Post that he hasn’t done, and even though he has stepped down from his managerial positions, Brinn is always there to provide us with his much-needed sage wisdom – when he isn’t also editing the International Edition.
With a portfolio of work that includes interviewing some of the biggest performers in Israeli and international music to helping develop what would become Israel’s broader “beyond the conflict” model of hasbara (public diplomacy), Brinn’s career has been one for the ages.
In Jerusalem sat down with him to discuss his long tenure with the Post, as well as his career highlights.
This is “Behind the Bylines,” where we bring you a look at the people behind the articles that keep our paper running.
What brought you to Israel?
To put it diplomatically, I was convinced to move to Israel by my wife, who was intent on living here. We took six years to decide, and eventually I caved in. I arrived against my will.
However, in the ensuing years, I developed a love-hate relationship with Israel – heavy on the love.
What got you interested in journalism?
I always loved journalism as a young child reading the daily paper growing up in Portland, Maine, and reading magazines. Growing up, I wrote for my high school newspaper. I went to college and studied communications, with a minor in journalism at Boston University.
I always thought that I would somehow be a journalist, and I wrote for a number of freelance publications during college and after college. But surprisingly enough, when I arrived in Israel, I got a job as a technical writer for a hi-tech company for a few years, and only after being in Israel for three years did I apply for a job at The Jerusalem Post.
I was rejected. I applied again, and I got into the Post in 1990 in a very junior position working on In Jerusalem. And that’s when I started doing as much as I could, writing restaurant reviews and film reviews, feature stories, and showing my editors that I was capable of doing more than I was doing. And eventually I moved on to many other positions.
But then you left the ‘Post,’ right?
After being at the Post for 13 years, in 2002 I decided to explore greener pastures. It was the height of the Second Intifada, and I was numb from the news. I was the news editor of the Post at the time, and it was very harrowing.
An incredible opportunity came across my plate that I decided to go for. It was an organization based in California called ISRAEL21c that was promoting Israel from a basis of ‘beyond the conflict.’ It was basically the forerunner of the Start-Up Nation, looking at Israel as something that provides a greater good for the world. They were starting an organization with an office in Jerusalem, and I was hired to be that office’s director.
I was there for five years. We worked on getting stories about Israeli health and scientific and medical achievements into American publications and on TV. We brought Christopher Reeve over, the Superman actor who had undergone stem cell treatment that was developed in Israel. We brought journalists over from all different spheres, including wine journalists and hip-hop journalists, to show them those aspects of Israel. It was very exciting.
I worked closely with the Foreign Ministry, as they developed their own ‘beyond the conflict’ message. And today, I’m very proud to say that probably there isn’t a speech that an Israeli minister or prime minister gives in an international forum where they don’t tout Israel’s technological achievements and how they make the world a better place. It’s become like a talking point.
But after five years of that, I was itching to come back into journalism. I was approached by the Post's editor-in-chief at the time, David Horovitz, and I returned in 2007.
What’s one of your favorite anecdotes from your career?
One of my highlights was going to interview Shimon Peres after he was president, when he still had an office at the Peres Center for Peace in Jaffa. Even though he was at an advanced age, he was larger than life.
And I think one of the highlights of that encounter was actually my wife making a batch of blueberry muffins, and I brought him one. And he didn’t wait. He took it and he started eating it right away. He loved it.
Can I get one of those muffins?
[Laughs] Sure.
I met him again. I wrote a book in 2014 in collaboration with a therapist, Alex Kerten, who treats Parkinson’s disease patients. It’s called Goodbye Parkinson’s, Hello Life! and it was a bestseller on Amazon for a number of years, and is still selling well. When it came out, he and I went to give a copy to Peres. He was very gracious, and he held the book and looked at it, and he took pictures of us, and he gave us a sound bite.
He said, ‘This isn’t just a book, it’s hope.’ So that made me feel really good.
Another achievement I’m proud of has to do with my music. One of the things that have kept me sane through my years as a journalist has been an outlet of music. I’m an amateur musician. Guitarist, keyboard player, drummer – I’ve been in a number of bands. I also like recording my own music in a little home bedroom studio.
I was privileged and honored enough this year since the war began to write a song about one of the hostages who was released named Rimon Buchshtav, whose husband, unfortunately, was recently declared dead in Gaza. The song I wrote about her release, ‘Rimon’s Song,’ was released in May, and it’s gotten a lot of popularity. Thousands of people have listened to it on YouTube and on Spotify, and I think, in a small way, it’s keeping the issue of hostages alive for people abroad.
Tell me about the work you’re doing now.
People consider me one of the elders at the Post, which is very weird for me because I came in as a junior.
About a year ago, I stepped down from my position as managing editor, which I had been doing for the last 15 years or so. I figured it was time to get off the daily grind, which it definitely was, even though I loved it very much.
So now, in my position as senior editor, I wear a number of hats. I edit our weekly International Edition, which goes out around the world. I edit our daily Arts and Entertainment page, which appears in the daily paper; and I edit our feature pages, including the weekly travel page and health page. In addition, I write editorials, features, and columns when there’s an issue I feel needs addressing. And my door is open to the rest of the staff.
I’m sort of like the sounding board for our Editor-in-Chief Zvika Klein, and for any other editors who have questions or issues.
The great thing about what I do now is I’m able to give advice and give my thoughts on matters without any consequence. I don’t have to actually have the responsibility or do anything about it.
What advice would you have for any aspiring journalists out there?
I think aspiring journalists should read a lot and write a lot. Learn how to write.
The main impediment in today’s world of journalism is that a lot of writers don’t really know how to write and tell a good story. And journalism is basically telling a story. You have to make it compelling, and you have to know what elements to put in and what elements not to put in.
I would also say to find an area of expertise. If you could always have one thing in particular that you’re the expert in, that makes you valuable, and it helps you branch out as well. Like my background has always been mainly music and entertainment. I’ve kind of been a walking encyclopedia of contemporary music, and so that’s always been my jumping off point, but I’ve been able to branch out and write about basically everything.
I think one of the biggest compliments anyone gave me was actually going back to David Horovitz when he left the Post. He went around the room and talked about everyone there. When he came to me, he said that I was the only person he knew who could take any subject and write about it. So that was an affirmation that I was doing something right. ■