Personal Essays

The power of the pun, from Shakespeare to Walter Cronkite to Roy Peter Clark

How a bit of word play launched Clark's career as the renowned writing teacher at the Poynter Institute and author of 20 books on writing

By Roy Peter Clark • April 23, 2024

William Shakespeare and Walter Cronkite

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From the Editor

A time capsule of journalism’s romantic age

The editor visits the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents' Club, where the company is fascinating, the drinks are cheap and the memories are deep

By Jacqui Banaszynski • April 22, 2024

Story Craft

The why, who and how of interviews

A reporter/editor/teacher recommends stepping back to take a crucial first step of thought and planning to ensure effective interviews

By Jacqui Banaszynski • April 19, 2024

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From the Editor

So many newsletters: Reading to learn to write to be read

By Jacqui Banaszynski
March 19, 2024

The editor reflects on newsletters as a writing form and what they might teach us about various ways to engage readers

Short Takes

A 3,000-word story, 70 email questions ~ and a grateful writer

By Jyoti Madhusoodanan
March 14, 2024

A freelancer praises the meticulous process of fact-checkers

From the Editor

Circling your way to a story

By Jacqui Banaszynski
March 14, 2024

The editor muses on how letting your mind wander can sometimes lead to more creative insights and writing

Personal Essays

A New York Times profile of a Ukrainian sniper confronts the “myth of a ‘good kill'”

By Karl Marlantes
February 23, 2024

Novelist and Vietnam veteran Karl Marlantes on the moral dilemma revealed in a story by reporter and Afghanistan veteran Thomas Gibbons-Neff

Strictly Q&A

A first-time war correspondent finds human stories in a devastated Ukraine

February 21, 2024

Washington Post reporter Lizzie Johnson volunteered for a Christmas-month rotation in Ukraine, where she filed intimate narratives as well as news

From the Editor

Confessions of a flawed proofreader

By Jacqui Banaszynski
February 20, 2024

The editor corrects and apologizes for a fact error, and muses on the challenges of seeing glitches in our own writing

Story Craft

Two journalists talk to the bots — who talk back — about the pros and pitfalls of AI

By Casey Frechette and Chip Scanlan
February 16, 2024

"Once we accept that AI is flawed, we can use it responsibly, even relish in what it has to offer." ~ journalism professor Casey Frechette

From the Editor

Story treats from cookie jars

By Jacqui Banaszynski
February 13, 2024

The editor, inspired by a collection of vintage cookie jars at a country diner, muses on the trove of stories found by revisiting history.

Short Takes

Analytics aren’t the only measure

By Laurie Hertzel
February 8, 2024

A retired journalist revisits letters sent by readers early in her career, and is reminded that stories touch people in ways we never know

Story Annotations

A reporting team trekked back 50 years to explore an unsolved climbing mystery

By Chip Scanlan
February 6, 2024

In "Ghosts on the Glacier," John Branch and a New York Times multi-media team tell a tale with echoes of the 2012 Pulitzer-winning project "Snow Fall"

Narrative News

Kim Cross wins Truman Capote nonfiction award

By Jacqui Banaszynski
January 31, 2024

By Jacqui Banaszynski We received a lot of thumbs-up in response to the two-part post (November 2023) featuring nonfiction author Kim Cross. Our pieces featured an interview with Cross about how she landed a contract for her book, “In Light of All Darkness,”… Read More

From the Editor

What and how I learned from Jon Franklin

By Jacqui Banaszynski
January 30, 2024

A master and pioneer of narrative nonfiction, Franklin was a demanding teacher and unapologetic force for better writing

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