Sam Gelfand

I was born near the end of 1984 (the year) and grew up in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, where I attended SLP High School.  Upon graduation, I briefly studied social sciences at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.  Unable to resist the temptations of pursuing a career in the arts, I transfered to Minneapolis Commnity and Technical College where I double majored in screenwriting and digital video.  In the years after that, I worked as a freelance production assistant and/or intern for everything from a History Channel documentary to a Food Network show and even an independent film production company.

Also the bass player for a local band and an actor for a Twin Cities public access television show, my diverse talents and experience are mostly negated by my short attention span and distaste for repetition.  Because of these attributes I will almost certainly fail.

Although I do not have a degree in journalism, my father wrote for a number of high profile newspapers and my mother was a newspaper editor. My grandfather was a reader's representative for approximately 30 years before retiring after a short time during which he wrote a weekly ethics column.  Listening to my father and grandfather discuss their work instilled in me a sense of integrity and a drive to be honest, open-minded and objective.  They also instilled in me the knowledge that pure objectivity is nearly impossible, which makes it all the more important to be honest and open-minded.