Readers:
“As passionate and steadfast a defender of free speech as this town has seen in a long
while.”
—Peter Watko, letter to Philadelphia Weekly, 2001.
“One of the brightest and most dependable and most straightforward gentlemen I've ever
met…. The kind of guy you'd like to have your daughter come home and say she'd like to marry.”
—Philadelphia civic leader W. Thacher Longstreth, quoted in Philadelphia Inquirer,
1993.
“Your lack of reasoning ability, worldly knowledge, understanding and tolerance of Hoosiers
has been evident all along.”
—W. H. Cripe, letter to the editor, Portland (Ind.) Commercial-Review, May 16,
1968.
“You're the only one in Philadelphia who understands what I'm trying to do!”
—Riccardo Muti, music director, Philadelphia Orchestra, 1992.
“You have reinforced my faith in the uncluttered mind.”
—Jeremiah Ford II, former athletic director, University of Pennsylvania, 1976.
“Dan's a bright, able guy. Anything he's associated with stands a chance for success."
—Philadelphia advertising and marketing guru Elliott Curson, quoted in Philadelphia City
Paper, Oct. 17, 1996.
“If I wasn't a public figure, I'd rather make him eat a bundle of those articles covered
with ketchup or mustard or whatever he likes."
—Former Philadelphia mayor Frank Rizzo, May 1982.
"You and I have one thing in common: Neither of us will ever win the Pulitzer Prize, because
we are both very poor writers."
—Thelma M. Tarter of Hartford City, Ind., letter to the editor, Portland (Ind.) Commercial-Review,
January 22, 1965.
Writers:
"Dan Rottenberg, I have to tell you, is a serious man."
— Columnist Dorthy Storck, Philadelphia Inquirer, May 1982.
"The man responsible for transforming the weekly Welcomat into a lively vehicle piloted
by emerging and established free-lance writers— you never know where you're going to end up, but the ride is always
interesting."
—Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Clark DeLeon, June 30, 1988.
“I don't think he sees the other side. He sees four or five other sides.”
—Magazine writer Kiki Olson, quoted in Philadelphia Inquirer, 1993.
“A civic treasure who has created a unique forum for opinion in Philadelphia. Ben Franklin
would be proud of him, and so should we be.”
—Drexel University professor Robert Zaller, 2010.
“I cannot thank Dan R. sufficiently for the opportunities he has given me to write about
music in Philadelphia…. Dan should be, and I'm fairly sure, actually is proud of the remarkable journal he has created.”
—Dan Coren, music critic for Broad Street Review, in a letter to his high school
classmates, 2010.
"An over-the-hill hack."
—Author and journalist Buzz Bissinger, in The Player, July/August 1998.
“A responsible and committed voice in Philadelphia journalism for over 30 years."
—Buzz Bissinger, Daily Pennsylvanian banquet address, 2009.
Employers:
“Dan Rottenberg is, in our opinion, one of the ablest young newspapermen in America today.”
—Publisher Hugh Ronald, editorial, Portland (Ind.) Commercial-Review, June 5, 1968.
“Although this publication is only a year old— still a startup by most measures—
[reader] response has encouraged us to increase our frequency from six to 10 issues a year and add more luster to our estimable
editorial with new features from such power hitters as…. Dan Rottenberg….”
—Michael Bloomberg, publisher's column, Bloomberg Wealth Manager, January/February
2000.
“One of our most constant critics, a decidedly downwardly mobile case named Dan Rottenberg.
He began his career at the Wall Street Journal; he is ending it at something called the Welcomat.”
—D. Herbert Lipson, publisher's column, Philadelphia Magazine, July 1988.
