Watch my media training in action on Fox Philly! I was not expecting to hear the question about college kids starting businesses. But I was prepared to talk about major brands that are named after real people. So I doggedly went after that angle instead. “Did you know Chef Boyardee was a real guy?” I… Read more »
Jason Cochran
Me and my ‘Knight Rider’ short shorts
I am showing this to you first because you love me more. It’s me at It’s a Wrap in the Valley, where costumes from Hollywood TV and movie wardrobe departments are sold as vintage for cheap. Battlestar Galactica was on the list of shows that had clothes represented in the inventory, but try as I… Read more »
Brown’s Hotel does right by Alexander Graham Bell
It took only a few hours before someone from the the illustrious Brown’s Hotel read my admiring post about its Kipling Suite. How’s that for attentive service? A rep wrote me today to fill me in on the latest: …Since Sir Rocco Forte and Olga Polizzi refurbished the hotel in 2008, we have dedicated one of our… Read more »
A favorite hotel room: The Kipling Suite
Kipling Suite, Brown’s Hotel, London Brown’s Hotel is one of London’s most grande dames. It’s been open since 1837, gradually expanding into 11 townhouses as it collected esteem and high custom, and there’s no way to underestimate the important role it has played through the ages. For one, it’s where the first successful telephone call… Read more »
The (annotated) instructor*
Last fall, as Aol prepared to launch a new system for collecting stories from freelancers (Seed), I was asked by the site’s creators to make a boilerplate instructional post that would help new writers learn the ropes. I was given only a topic: “How to Conduct a Successful Interview.” I wrote it quickly and sent… Read more »
Last week in Philadelphia…
I was on TV. Ever had a conversation with someone you can’t see and who isn’t there? What sounds an awful lot like insanity is, in fact, the way a modern satellite interview works. I’m in New York City’s Fox News studio, talking to a camera about debt settlement rip-offs and Groupon while newsroom employees… Read more »
Corcoran and Cochran
Barbara Corcoran and I at Aol’s studios, about to record an episode of her coaching show, “Practical Magic.” The first segment premiered Friday at WalletPop.com. She makes everyone around her better. She has the kind of energy that can leave you in the dust. I like to say that having a conversation with Barbara is… Read more »
About Jason
Jason Cochran is an award-winning travel journalist, pop historian, and consumer reporter. He was the first person in a quarter century to win Guidebook of the Year twice in the Lowell Thomas Awards by the Society of American Travel Writers. The Editor-in-Chief of Frommers.com, he has written extensively for the New York Post, Budget Travel… Read more »
My host reel
Harpers Ferry
A few years ago, I was doing something mundane when the feeling hit me. I want to go to Harpers Ferry, I thought. Can’t explain why. I went through a John Brown period about 15 years ago (doesn’t every American history buff go through a John Brown period?), when my collaborator and I were trying… Read more »