Articles

How and why Katie Engelhart followed a woman's journey to her "final exit"

How and why Katie Engelhart followed a woman’s journey to her “final exit”

A California Sunday Magazine profile of a woman with dementia is included in Engelhart's new book on right-to-die issues
March 3, 2021
Chip Scanlan
Pulitzer winner Ellen Barry solved a mystery, then questioned the mysteries of truth

Pulitzer winner Ellen Barry solved a mystery, then questioned the mysteries of truth

"Reader, I should confess that I wanted to write the story."
March 2, 2021
Rashi Shrivastava
When the story of one is the story of many

When the story of one is the story of many

The number, when it landed, should have been no surprise. Even so, it held the power to shock. I spent a week  bracing myself for news that the COVID death…
March 1, 2021
Jacqui Banaszynski
Go behind the scenes of four 2020 George Polk Award winners

Go behind the scenes of four 2020 George Polk Award winners

The George Polk Awards were established 73 years ago to honor George Polk, a CBS correspondent who was killed while covering the civil war in Greece. They now rank among…
February 26, 2021
Jacqui Banaszynski
How a national correspondent gained trust to cover COVID in a tiny Kansas town

How a national correspondent gained trust to cover COVID in a tiny Kansas town

Trevor Hughes of USA Today worked his way from the outside-in to write about a rural community besieged by COVID
February 25, 2021
Carly Stern
What narrative master Eli Saslow learned about intimacy interviewing by phone

What narrative master Eli Saslow learned about intimacy interviewing by phone

EDITOR’S NOTE: The “Voices from the Pandemic” series has been awarded a 2020 George Polk Award in Oral Histories.Eli Saslow of The Washington Post has made a name for himself…
February 24, 2021
Matt Tullis
The teaching power of obituaries

The teaching power of obituaries

The final "life story" demands sensitive interviewing, strong character development, the arc of narrative and foolproof fact-checking
February 23, 2021
Jacqui Banaszynski
A Black reporter sets off on a journey of "My Country"

A Black reporter sets off on a journey of “My Country”

It’s been just over two years since we wrote about Tyrone Beason, then a Seattle Times columnist who had fallen out of love with the city as its tech-fueled growth…
February 19, 2021
Jacqui Banaszynski
"She was delicate the way a ribbon of steel holds up its part of a bridge."

“She was delicate the way a ribbon of steel holds up its part of a bridge.”

—From the obituary of Cicely Tyson by Wesley Morris of The New York Times
February 18, 2021
Mallary Tenore
Sharpen your narrative journalism skills in 2021 at these writers’ conferences

Sharpen your narrative journalism skills in 2021 at these writers’ conferences

EDITOR’S NOTE: This post was updated on June 1, 2021, with new information. Changes or additions are highlighted.If you’re feeling stalled and rusty in your writing, you’re far from alone.…
February 17, 2021
Madeline Bodin