Author

From a Kickstarter about avocados to conviction as an American spy

From a Kickstarter about avocados to conviction as an American spy

How Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian turned 544 days in an Iranian prison into a story about love, journalism and a broken homeland
Shining light on a "shadow" special-ed program in the Georgia public schools

Shining light on a “shadow” special-ed program in the Georgia public schools

Rachel Aviv of The New Yorker uses the narrative of one child in one school to reveal the widespread costs of "separate and unequal"
Newsroom Ode #3: The last desk of defense

Newsroom Ode #3: The last desk of defense

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the third of a series of odes that chronicle the legacy newsroom. Each is written from different first-person perspective. Together they create the mumbled narrative of a…
Finding the brightest stars in a constellation of writing tips

Finding the brightest stars in a constellation of writing tips

Conference panels can be frustrating things. Several subject experts droning on, absorbed with the minutiae of their own work, sometimes failing to make bigger points, often repeating what other panelists…
"There's a story he's waiting for, long before he comes across it."

“There’s a story he’s waiting for, long before he comes across it.”

In the original context of “The Overstory,” this sentence applies to a young man — a teenager, actually — who tumbles into the little-known language of coding and programming in…
An annotated project that "breaks the 'rules' in all the right ways"

An annotated project that “breaks the ‘rules’ in all the right ways”

EDITOR’S NOTE: While we did not annotate this project by ProPublica Illinois, we are including it in “Annotation Tuesday” because the story itself, as published, was an innovative example of…
Newsroom Ode #2: Making story hay whether the sun shines or not

Newsroom Ode #2: Making story hay whether the sun shines or not

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second of a series of odes that chronicle the legacy newsroom. Each is written from different first-person perspective. Together they create the mumbled narrative of a…
The Sixth Cactus: When green becomes so much more than green

The Sixth Cactus: When green becomes so much more than green

Editor’s note: This is another in our Shop Class series. The goal is to break down the work that goes into creating stories, and offer prompts, suggestions or exercises to help you…
Five life hacks for beating writer's block

Five life hacks for beating writer’s block

Every writer procrastinates. Even John McPhee, one of the most prolific writers of our time. “I’ll go hours before I’m able to write a word,” he has said. “I’ll make tea. I…
Newsroom Ode #1: Friday night on the city desk

Newsroom Ode #1: Friday night on the city desk

EDITOR’S NOTE: For something a bit different, we offer the Monday bonus: an eight-week series (give or take) of poems that chronicle the legacy newsroom. Each is written from first-person…