Dan's Story
I started Best New in 2016 while working at Rolling Stone because I saw a gap in the market: brands wanted authentic stories, but most production companies were making ads. Media companies understood storytelling but often lacked production resources.
Having spent years in music journalism and documentary filmmaking, I knew how to make content that people actually wanted to watch—not just content that checked marketing boxes.
As Executive Producer at Rolling Stone, I led a team producing everything from breaking news video to feature documentaries, branded partnerships to podcasts. We made Useful Idiots with Matt Taibbi and Katie Halper. We covered elections, profiled artists, investigated stories. And we did it all with a scrappy, hands-on approach.
When the pandemic hit, I went full-time with Best New, working with clients like Atlas Obscura, PBS, Bank of America, and Interscope Records. The model is simple: bring Rolling Stone-level storytelling and craft to brands that want to connect with audiences authentically.
I'm a producer, director, cinematographer, editor, and composer. I like wearing multiple hats. That means when you work with Best New, you're working directly with me—not layers of account managers or junior producers. Every project gets senior creative leadership from concept through delivery.