Articles

How narrative moments can elevate a non-narrative story

How narrative moments can elevate a non-narrative story

Two foundational definitions of news are proximity and immediacy. The closer and more urgent an event or issue, the more likely it is to grab a reader’s attention. That can…
From city hall scoops to breaking news to profiles to narratives

From city hall scoops to breaking news to profiles to narratives

Lizzie Johnson’s work covering the deadly wildfires that have scorched California in recent years has earned a place in these posts in the past. Most notable was an annotation of…
Everything you need (and more) to shoot great selfie video

Everything you need (and more) to shoot great selfie video

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the third in our five-part video series, Field Testing, in which independent video producer Alexander Trowbridge retreats to a farm to learn the tools and skills…
Ernest Hemingway's true and lasting writing lessons

Ernest Hemingway’s true and lasting writing lessons

A new documentary by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick explores the complexity of the man, and the legacy of his work
How to take your journalism to new heights with a drone

How to take your journalism to new heights with a drone

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second in our five-part video series, Field Testing, in which independent video producer Alexander Trowbridge retreats to a farm to learn the tools and skills…
What working on a farm taught a journalist about visual storytelling

What working on a farm taught a journalist about visual storytelling

EDITOR’S NOTE: Welcome to Field…
"... a fleeting fit of frustration" over the F word

“… a fleeting fit of frustration” over the F word

Consider the curse of curse words. Some publications steer clear of them altogether. Some embrace them in whole, in part, or in different forms and different fonts. Some have found…
The slogging reality of writing

The slogging reality of writing

The daughter of a friend reached out to me recently, seeking a bit of advice. She’s a young millennial and, after dabbling in various dabbles, she’s come back around to…
What a retired journalist learned about re-learning to write

What a retired journalist learned about re-learning to write

First, the COVID lockdown. Then retirement.After nearly 40 years as a news professional and 10 as a journalism professor at the University of Idaho, I found myself isolated and bored.…
A narrative on the political divide reported from the inside-out

A narrative on the political divide reported from the inside-out

Jose A. Del Real of The Washington Post uses phone, email and texts to profile a family torn apart by conflicting beliefs in "facts"