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The education of a journalism contest judge

The education of a journalism contest judge

If you’ve never judged a journalism contest, I urge you to raise your hand. The work can be blistering: Dozens of stories to read, tight delivery deadlines, clumsy online access.…
March 15, 2022
When feedback is a drag, and when it's path forward

When feedback is a drag, and when it’s path forward

For most of my life, feedback made me anxious.I was in third grade when my mom came home from a parent-teacher conference with this pronouncement. “Your teacher said your math…
March 11, 2022
Not your usual police report

Not your usual police report

Cop-shop PIOs typically don’t ruminate on life in a small city or make jokes at their own expense. At least, not on social media. But since 2014, Tim Cotton —…
March 10, 2022
A citizen-journalist's effort to follow events in Ukraine

A citizen-journalist’s effort to follow events in Ukraine

Time and attention in recent days have gone to friends and former students in Ukraine, asking what the rest of us, as journalists and citizens, should know, how best to…
March 8, 2022
Reading fiction through the filter of current events

Reading fiction through the filter of current events

Who we are when we encounter a story can have a lot to do with how we engage with that story and what meaning we take from it. Our age,…
March 2, 2022
The battle for Ukraine is also a battle for sustained attention

The battle for Ukraine is also a battle for sustained attention

EDITOR’S NOTE: This essay is excerpted from a Storyboard newsletter originally published Friday, Feb. 25, 2022 Just one day into the madness being visited upon Ukraine,…
March 2, 2022
The pioneering narrative work of "girl stunt reporters"

The pioneering narrative work of “girl stunt reporters”

A while ago, preparing to teach a literary nonfiction class, I reread Nellie Bly’s “Ten Days in a Mad House,” her account of going undercover in 1887 into Blackwell’s Insane…
February 24, 2022
So you want to write a book? Part 2: Agents, queries and timelines

So you want to write a book? Part 2: Agents, queries and timelines

Newspaperman-turned-author Bryan Denson shares how he organizes his notes and timelines for books
February 23, 2022
So you want to write a book? Part 1: Have a strong story and resilient ego

So you want to write a book? Part 1: Have a strong story and resilient ego

Newspaper reporter Bryan Denson outlines how he went from rejection to multiple book contracts
February 22, 2022
What personal pain reminded two writers about the gift listening

What personal pain reminded two writers about the gift listening

The longer I dwell in the world, the more I believe our greatest values, as human beings and as journalists, come through empathy and listening. Also, alas, our greatest failures.…
February 18, 2022