Articles

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
Metrics can't always or instantly measure impact

Metrics can’t always or instantly measure impact

It has become an all-too-common question, from students and young journalists and even struggling veterans: Why does this work matter if nothing changes?I could spend a lifetime of study and…
February 15, 2021
Jacqui Banaszynski
Who, How and Why? What we can learn from an interview with the Super Bowl streaker

Who, How and Why? What we can learn from an interview with the Super Bowl streaker

Curiosity grounds all good journalism. Following up on curiosity — wondering about everything, and then caring to find out — is what makes journalism soar.Lane DeGregory finds and follows stories…
February 12, 2021
Jacqui Banaszynski, Lane DeGregory
"... equal was the one thing all men were not."

“… equal was the one thing all men were not.”

—Rye Dolan in the novel "The Cold Millions," by Jess Walter
February 10, 2021
Jacqui Banaszynski
Videos taken by Parler users from the U.S. Capitol assault tell a valuable story

Videos taken by Parler users from the U.S. Capitol assault tell a valuable story

Last week, Sen. Mitt Romney called for preserving evidence of the destruction caused by the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol “so that 150 years from now, as people…
February 9, 2021
Alexander Trowbridge