Writer | Editor | Et Cetera

Hi, my name is johnbreneman.com, but you can call me John Breneman for short. Writer since birth. Genetically wired to bring high levels of creativity to everything I do.

Career Highlights

Newspaper journalism – Portsmouth Herald, Boston Herald, Cambridge Chronicle: reporter | editor | Sunday columnist | headline writer | Page designer | editorialist | mentor. Here’s the scoop on my newspaper career.

Copywriting – digital agency marketing copywriter | editor | email marketer |strategist | student. Duties include serving as senior editor of 8-person copywriting team. Specialties include combining art of storytelling with science digital marketing.

Check out my debut novel – “A Man of Remarkable Restraint”

John B here. Multi-decade newspaper journalist. Now writing, editing and ideating for Vital, a high-energy digital agency in the heart of my hometown of Portsmouth, NH. I also love writing humor and exploring fun ways to expand my brand (and my mind) here in the lucrative, fast-paced blogosphere. Intellectual curiosity and empathy animate my daily existence. 

Writing and editing copy on the following topics continues to expand my understanding of how the world works: Artificial Intelligence | Technology Entrepreneurship | Data Science | Cybersecurity | Digital Transformation | Brandstorming | eCommerce | Customer Relationship Building | Leadership Training | Remote Teaching |Private Aviation | Third Party Logistics | Health Informatics | Industrial Robotics | Emotional Intelligence | UX | 5G | The Internet of Thingamabobs (IoT) | and much much more.

Recent learning adventures include: helping a leading U.S. university launch six new online master’s degree programs (including artificial intelligence, data science and technology entrepreneurship) and website storytelling to help launch the world’s next great jazz and blues club.

One of my specialties is bringing an unusually high level of creativity to all kinds of fun and serious projects. For example, my niece Zoe’s commencement from Emerson College would have been held in May 2020 … but along came COVID-19. So I made her a special online graduation congratulation video … and awarded her an honorary triple Ph.D. from my make-believe institution of higher learning – Triple Action University.

For my next creative adventure, I have joined forces with the literary trailblazers at Encircle Publications for the publication of my debut novel, “A Man of Remarkable Restraint.”

– John Breneman

Special Projects [Triple Action Creative Lab]
Conceived as a platform for launching new creative ventures and publishings, and for sharing my archival writings and renderings, Triple Action Enterprises is what I like to call a “virtual multinational Imagination Factory conglomerate with rich Intellectual Property Holdings across the Universal Spectrum of Creative Expression about The Human Experience in a World Gone Haywire.”

Fun fact: It answers to both tripleactionnews.com and johnbreneman.com.

My HQ: Portsmouth, NH

Most people don’t spy him at first but there is a gosh darn pole sitter waving his hat high atop the building where I now live.

This article about my hometown’s rich and colorful history turned out to be one of my favorite stories ever, so I am posting it here — along with some other writing about our historic little city by the Piscataqua River.

In 2019, I also enjoyed the privilege of serving as editorial director for the sold-out TEDxPortsmouth event at The Music Hall. (The photo at the top, by Keith Tharp, is me backstage at The Music Hall filing this TEDx story on deadline for the local paper.)

Triple Action Studios

The creative process works in mysterious ways. For example, I recently appointed myself creative director of this creative studio I just created — inspired by the 2019 experience of co-writing and appearing in a play for the first time ever.  

 

Triple Action Technology

Just a small sampling of my technology marketing (ghostwriting) work.

Triple Action Publishing

After getting “Downsized!” from a long career in journalism, I reimagined some of my favorite pretend advice columns to author an Amazon-available blockbuster ($2.99) packed with hilarious advice on love, hate, sex, guns, booze, politics, racism, hibernation, exorcists and, of course, getting downsized.

Triple Action Sports

The incredible Roberto Clemente (above) inspired me to join the baseball world in 1971. Check out some of my favorite diamond gems on My Baseball Page.
From Print Newspapering to Digital Marketing

How I Used Inbound Marketing to Land My Dream Job

Long story short, I got “Downsized” from newspapers a while back and decided I wanted to become a copywriter at this cool creative agency (Vital). Here’s the story of how I learned and leveraged digital marketing strategies to create a digital marketing career.

For an insatiably curious, highly visual wordsmith like me, a career in newspapers was ideal.

I pursued my passion for writing (locally and in Boston) by interviewing and telling the stories of business and nonprofit executives; academic leaders; politicians; entertainment and sports figures; thought leaders, influence shapers and everyday people from all walks of life.

I discovered and explored my love of graphic design, sharpening my eye for how to integrate high-impact visuals with top-notch copy. Always with the clock ticking toward the next edition. Headlines on deadline.

Stop the presses !!
Shriveling Newspaper Industry Forces
Midcareer Reinvention as Copywriting/Editing Specialist at High-Energy Digital Agency. 

Reinventing myself as a senior marketing copywriter has been an exhilarating, ongoing learning curve. I love learning about the work of our clients, helping them craft their message and communicate it to the world. And I love discovering how the art of copywriting integrates with the science of digital marketing to create opportunity and action.

Blogging [Worst] Practices

Yes, “Blogging WORST Practices” … creativity is strongly encouraged at Vital.