Articles

If it was good enough for Jane Austen ...

If it was good enough for Jane Austen …

My mother’s reverence for education, a solid grounding in middle-school grammar, and a long career in old-school journalism has chiseled me into one of those people who honors language, and…
Will this date ever fade?

Will this date ever fade?

It’s that date again. The one we might even not think about for awhile, or at least send to a distant corner, until it’s upon us with the force and…
Exposing what the police and courts wouldn't — and what society owes in return

Exposing what the police and courts wouldn’t — and what society owes in return

Haunted by youthful memories of claims of rape, a opinion writer goes home to seek the truth and expose the moral “rot” of shaming the victim
A new "true story" award honors longform nonfiction from around the world

A new “true story” award honors longform nonfiction from around the world

The ceremony was held in a gilded, 115-year-old opera house in Bern, Switzerland. A giant faux bear shared the stage with a prominent news anchor, who emceed the event in…
A bag of ashes, a research-loving reporter, the public library, and a three-hour hunt

A bag of ashes, a research-loving reporter, the public library, and a three-hour hunt

It was an intriguing bit of crowd-sourcing: Police in Portland, Oregon, said they had “exhausted all resources” in attempts to find relatives or friends of a dead WWII veteran, and…
Revisiting the "Ghost Ship" fire

Revisiting the “Ghost Ship” fire

In early December, 2016, a fire broke out during a concert at “Ghost Ship,” a one-time warehouse in Oakland, California, that had been turned, mostly illegally and in fits and…
A self-made freelance career (with a little help along the way)

A self-made freelance career (with a little help along the way)

Barry Yeoman talks about a life of learning to report, write, listen, and keep up
Shop class: Stuck before you start? Eat a cookie, take a walk, set it out for the elves

Shop class: Stuck before you start? Eat a cookie, take a walk, set it out for the elves

Advice to a blocked writer from others who have suffered the same
Chasing ghosts that will forever haunt

Chasing ghosts that will forever haunt

"Ghosts of Highway 20:" Through serendipity, creativity and care, a newspaper in Oregon finds answers 40 years after police and courts failed

From the caress of love to the fists of fear

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Exposing the scourge of domestic violence