Darlena Cunha

Darlena Cunha (born July 9, 1982)[1] is an American freelance journalist, blogger, and writer. In addition to her career as a journalist, Cunha is an adjunct professor for the College of Journalism and Communications at the University of Florida.[2]

Darlena Cunha
Born (1982-07-09) July 9, 1982
United States
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Connecticut
University of Florida
Occupation
  • Journalist
  • writer

Life and background

Originally from Connecticut, she earned a degree in ecology and another in journalism from the University of Connecticut.[3] She then earned a master's in mass communications from the University of Florida.[3]

Prior to her journalism career, Cunha worked as a television producer in Boston.[4] Beginning in 2010, Cunha also blogged frequently about her motherhood,[5] with several publications noting her as a "mommy blogger".[6][7][8] When she announced that she would be quitting mommy blogging in a 2018 Washington Post article, she recalled: "By the time my twins were 6, my daily writings had attracted a modest — but sizable, in the smallest sense of the word — following. People were starting to share my work beyond my circles. I had a few memes go viral. I had a few essays make the rounds on news aggregation. I was not a big deal. My kids thought I was. They thought they were."[5]

Journalism career

Darlena Cunha works as a freelance journalist.[9] She has written for The Washington Post,[10] The Atlantic,[11] The Huffington Post,[12] and Time.[13] Her writing is opinionated and liberal; in a 2014 Washington Post article she affirms her political beliefs, writing "I'm a diehard, bleeding-heart liberal."[14][15]

Her first viral article was headlined as "This is what happened when I drove my Mercedes to pick up food stamps" and published in the Washington Post, in 2014.[10][16] NPR's Tamara Keith wrote that the article "blew up on the Internet in part because of its 'there but for the grace of God go I' quality, in part because it echoes the familiar stereotype, and in part because of [its] striking headline."[16] In contrast to the headline, NPR wrote that Cunha actually enrolled in WIC, not food stamps.[16] Shortly after its publication, the article was listed as a recommended read in The New York Times by Stacy Cowley, who wrote:

When you're poor, looking for work and collecting food stamps, no one expects you to drive a Mercedes. Darlena Cunha's article and video about what happens when you do is a fascinatingly nuanced look at the psychological side-effects of being visibly impoverished.[17]

Cunha became the subject of controversy for a November 2014 Time article about the 2014 Ferguson unrest entitled "Ferguson: In Defense of Rioting."[13] She stated in the article that "Blacks in this country are more apt to riot because they are one of the populations here who still need to. In the case of the 1992 riots, 30 years of black people trying to talk about their struggles of racial profiling and muted, but still vastly unfair, treatment, came to a boil. Sometimes, enough is simply too much. And after that catalyst event, the landscape of southern California changed, and nationally, police forces took note."[13] Cunha was criticized by Fox News for writing that riots are "a necessary part of the evolution of society."[18] In November 2014, Cunha defended the Time column in a radio interview on The Ben Shapiro Show.[19]

References
  1. Cunha, Darlena (August 25, 2014). "Want to Go Viral? It'll Take a Lot More Work Than You Think". Wired. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  2. "CJC Adjunct Chronicles Her Battle to Avoid Cancer". University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications. March 27, 2018. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  3. "Journalism Adjunct Faculty". University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  4. Cunha, Darlena (July 18, 2014). "From Middle-Class To Poverty In A Mercedes". Tell Me More (Interview). Interviewed by Michel Martin. National Public Radio.
  5. Cunha, Darlena (March 19, 2018). "It's time to quit mommy blogging, for the sake of my children". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 19, 2018. Retrieved March 17, 2020. (Subscription required.)
  6. Moore, Faith (January 15, 2019). "Children of Mommy Bloggers Starting to Realize They're the Subject of Blogs... and They're Not Happy". PJ Media. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  7. Graham, Ruth (January 8, 2019). "That Outrageous Mommy Blogger Who Refuses to Stop Writing About Her Kid Highlights a Key Parent-Child Generational Gap". Slate. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  8. Ruiz, Michelle (January 14, 2019). "The One Question Parents Should Ask Themselves Before Posting Their Kids on Social Media". Vogue. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  9. Cunha, Darlena (October 21, 2019). "How Florida Republicans Are Talking About Impeachment". The New York Times. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  10. Cunha, Darlena (July 8, 2014). "This is what happened when I drove my Mercedes to pick up food stamps". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 11, 2020. (Subscription required.)
  11. "All Stories by Darlena Cunha – The Atlantic". The Atlantic. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  12. "Darlena Cunha". HuffPost. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  13. Cunha, Darlena (November 25, 2014). "Ferguson: In Defense of Rioting". Time. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  14. Cunha, Darlena (November 4, 2014). "I'm a die-hard liberal. It ruined my parenting". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 11, 2020. (Subscription required.)
  15. Tuttle, Ian (November 4, 2014). "WaPo: 'Liberalism Ruined My Parenting'". National Review. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  16. Keith, Tamara (July 12, 2014). "A Mother's Essay Challenges Assumptions About Poverty". NPR. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  17. Insider Staff (July 11, 2014). "What We're Reading". The New York Times. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  18. Gutfled, Greg (November 26, 2014). "Time Magazine Op-Ed Defends Rioting?!". The Five. Fox News. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  19. "We speak with Darlena Cunha who wrote a piece in Time magazine yesterday that was entitled "Ferguson: In Defence of Rioting"". The Ben Shapiro Show. mynorthwest.com. November 26, 2014. Archived from the original on April 28, 2015.
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