Daniel wrote more than one hundred front-page stories for The Washington Post, and more than three hundred for the Miami Herald. Here is a sampling.
"Public Universities Pushing 'Super-Seniors' to the Graduation Stage." Washington Post, June 2, 2012, front page. The writer visits the University of Wisconsin and mulls why so many of the nation's public flagship universities have four-year graduation rates under 50 percent.
"Is College Too Easy? As Study Falls, Debate Rises." Washington Post, May 21, 2012, front page. It's a dirty secret in higher education: Over a half-century, average weekly study time has declined by nearly half. Has college become too easy?
"Colleges Looking Beyond the Lecture." Washington Post, Feb. 3, 2012, front page. The lecture model in higher education - - I talk, you listen - - may soon be extinct.
"UC-Berkeley and Other 'Public Ivies' in Fiscal Peril." Washington Post, Dec. 14, 2011, front page. The writer travels to the nation's finest public university to survey the decline of tax-supported higher education.
"The Wizard of Robots." Washington Post Magazine, cover story, Nov. 11, 2011. Meet Dennis Hong, a brilliant engineer who wants to put a humanoid robot inside your home.
"Love It or Hate It, Colleges Learn to Live with U.S. News Guide." Washington Post, September 4, 2011, front page. Meet the man behind the curtain at the most powerful college rankings guide.
“Eight Ways to Get Higher Education into Shape.” Washington Post Magazine, cover story, Feb. 20, 2011. The writer explores eight simple fixes that could overhaul American higher education.
"Wide Web of Diversions Gets Laptops Evicted from Lecture Halls." Washington Post, March 9, 2010, front page. College profs make a stand against laptops in class.
“The Devoted.” Washington Post Magazine, cover story, Feb. 14, 2010. Meet Patricia McGuire, the most influential college president in Washington.
"A Slow March to Change." Washington Post, October 15, 2009, front page. The writer embeds with cadets at the Virginia Military Institute, an academy steeped in tradition and resistant to change.
"Throwing a Lifeline to Struggling Teachers," Washington Post, June 29, 2009, front page. A suburban Washington school system dares to threaten bad teachers with termination.
"Here, Here! 13 Years of Perfect Attendance," Washington Post, May 26, 2009, front page. What kind of kid attends 2,340 consecutive days of school? Meet Stefanie, the Iron Kid of Darnestown.
"Poor Neighborhoods, Untested Teachers." Washington Post, April 27, 2009, front page. An award-winning investigative report on the concentration of neophyte teachers at schools serving the poor.
"On and Up, with a Longing Look Back." Washington Post, June 21, 2008, front page. A teary-eyed account of childhood's end.
"A Hidden Premium in School Pay." Washington Post, December 25, 2007, front page. An investigative study of the hidden perks that boost superintendent salaries.
"More Work, Less Play in Kindergarten." Washington Post, May 23, 2007, front page. Kindergarten is the new first grade.
"Clauses and Commas Make a Comeback." Washington Post, October 23, 2006, front page. Grammar returns to the public schools.
"Goliath Braces for David, Part 24." Washington Post, April 23, 2006, front page. A celebration of the annual croquet match between bookish St. John's College and the doctrinaire U.S. Naval Academy.
"One Block, One Storm, Many Fears." Miami Herald, August 28, 2004, front page. A narrative account of how a devastating hurricane changed the lives of families on one city block.
"Exiles' Rafts Vanishing." Miami Herald, August 22, 2004, front page. The quest to preserve the hand-stitched crafts that conveyed Cuban balseros to Florida.
"A Signature Street." Miami Herald, July 18, 2004, front page. The opener to a series of narrative pieces on Miami's storied Seventh Avenue.
"Small-Town Florida: 107 Souls, Little Mail." Miami Herald, June 13, 2004, front page. The writer visits Florida's smallest town.
"Dade Soldiers: Bloodied But Whole." Miami Herald, May 31, 2004, front page. The story of the most decorated company in the Florida National Guard upon its return from Iraq.
"No Longer Kids, Still at Home." Miami Herald, January 11, 2004, front page. One of the first stories to explore the advent of a "new life stage, tucked between adolescence and adulthood."
"Troubled Cops Got Free Pass in BSO Mergers." Miami Herald, September 28, 2003, front page. An investigative story on an expanding sheriff's department ignoring past transgressions of new deputies.
"For Wrongly Convicted, $100 and a Bus Ride." Miami Herald, May 18, 2003, front page. Florida's criminal justice system had no system of automatic compensation to inmates whose convictions were overturned.
"Spotlight on False Confessions." Miami Herald, December 22, 2002, front page. Our investigation found 38 false or questionable murder confessions in Broward County, Florida.
"Teenagers' Arrests an 'American Nightmare.'" Miami Herald, February 17, 2002, front page. Our coverage led to the release of two wrongly convicted men, Tim Brown and Keith King, in a cop-killing case.
"Ruled Dead, Missing Mogul Still a Mystery." Miami Herald, February 3, 2002, front page. A Hollywood (Florida) millionaire vanishes amid whispers of mob ties.
"Theory in Walsh Murder Grows Fainter with Years." Miami Herald, July 27, 2001, front page. The legendary Adam Walsh case, 20 years later. The late, great Gene Miller was obsessed with this case.
"For 14 Years, Justice Failed A Man Condemned to Die." Miami Herald, June 25, 2001, front page. Frank Lee Smith died in prison for murders he did not commit. This story would inspire a powerful Frontline documentary.
"Tapes: Police Led Townsend in Confessions." Miami Herald, May 26, 2001, front page. Our coverage, and this piece in particular, prompted the swift release of wrongly convicted murder inmate Jerry Frank Townsend after DNA testing suggested his innocence.
"Boulis Led Tangled Life, Leaves Turmoil in Death." Miami Herald, February 18, 2001, front page. A fast-food magnate is gunned down. A classic, only-in-Florida jaw-dropper.
"South Florida Trial Targets IRA 'Agents'." Miami Herald, April 30, 2000, front page. The late, great Herald editor Jim Savage claimed he used this piece in his news-writing class.
"Don Martin Dies, Maddest of Mad Magazine Cartoonists." Miami Herald, January 8, 2000, front page. The writer revisits a favorite topic.
"Pacs Be With You." Chicago Tribune, August 5, 1999, via Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service. Definitive profile of Billy Mitchell, the Pac-Man champ later immortalized in the documentary The King of Kong.
"SST Defies Industry, Defines New Music." San Diego Union-Tribune, October 1, 1995, via Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service. A well-circulated weekend cover story about a classic college-radio record label.
"Living on Shaky Ground." Long Beach Press-Telegram, January 27, 1994, Style section. The writer spends a night in a makeshift shelter at the epicenter of the Northridge Earthquake.
"Fisher's Passage to Intolerance." Long Beach Press-Telegram, July 26, 1993, front page. The writer embeds, Rolling Stone-style, with a young group of alleged neo-Nazis to profile their leader.
