Author

Don Nelson

Don Nelson is owner/publisher/editor of the weekly Methow Valley News in north-central Washington state. He was previously editor of a daily newspaper in western Washington and has more than 40 years of experience in newspapers and magazines.

The making of a (born) journalist

The making of a (born) journalist

By Don NelsonWhen we first meet Carl Bernstein (as portrayed by Dustin Hoffman) in the opening minutes of “All the President’s Men,” he’s a shambles. Shaggy hair, tieless, frayed shirt…
March 17, 2023
The role of editor as story director

The role of editor as story director

The director wasn’t satisfied.“Do it again,” she said, after we finished the scene.We did.“Do it again.”We did.“Do it again.”And so on, until we got it right. Or close enough.It was…
July 16, 2021
"...silence so dense it became its own sound."

“…silence so dense it became its own sound.”

If you have read the novels of Dennis Lehane (among them “Gone, Baby, Gone,” “Mystic River” and “Shutter Island,” all made into movies), you know that place is a powerful…
May 25, 2021
Lessons from biographer Robert Caro's instructive mini-memoir "Working"

Lessons from biographer Robert Caro’s instructive mini-memoir “Working”

If there were no Robert Caro, he could not easily be invented. Consider the job description: Commit your career to exhaustive research into the lives of two legendarily powerful men,…
October 15, 2019
Lessons from a relentless "Reporter"

Lessons from a relentless “Reporter”

“Reporter” had to be the inevitable title for legendary investigative journalist Seymour M. Hersh’s 2018 autobiography. It’s perfect — a simple, proud word that encompasses craft, passion and conscience. In…
August 16, 2019
Newsroom Ode #10: A loyalist's last lament

Newsroom Ode #10: A loyalist’s last lament

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the tenth and last in a series of Monday odes that chronicle the legacy newsroom. Each is written from different first-person perspective. Together they create the mumbled…
March 11, 2019
Newsroom Ode #9: Echoes from an empty desk

Newsroom Ode #9: Echoes from an empty desk

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the ninth and penultimate in a series of Monday odes that chronicle the legacy newsroom. Each is written from a different first-person perspective. Together they create the…
March 4, 2019
Newsroom Ode #8: Podium pontifications

Newsroom Ode #8: Podium pontifications

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the eighth in a series of Monday odes that chronicle the legacy newsroom. Each is written from a different first-person perspective. Together they create the mumbled narrative…
February 25, 2019
Newsroom Ode #7: Desperation calls the consultant

Newsroom Ode #7: Desperation calls the consultant

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the seventh in a series of Monday odes that chronicle the legacy newsroom. Each is written from different first-person perspective. Together they create the mumbled narrative of…
February 18, 2019
Newsroom Ode #6: Sitting pretty at the top

Newsroom Ode #6: Sitting pretty at the top

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the sixth in a series of Monday odes that chronicle the legacy newsroom. Each is written from different first-person perspective. Together they create the mumbled narrative of…
February 11, 2019