Author

Jacqui Banaszynski

@JacquiB

Jacqui Banaszynski retired as the endowed Knight Chair in Editing at the Missouri School of Journalism in 2017, is editor at Nieman Storyboard, and a faculty fellow at the Poynter Institute. She won the 1988 Pulitzer Prize in feature writing for “AIDS in the Heartland,” a series about a gay farm couple facing AIDS, and was a finalist for the 1986 Pulitzer in international reporting for her account of the sub-Saharan famine.

"Problems that are not seen cannot be addressed."

“Problems that are not seen cannot be addressed.”

Journalism’s most idealistic missions are well-known and, despite the sine wave of attacks throughout history and the economic disruptions of the digital age, remain immutable:Give voice to the voiceless. Hold…
September 20, 2019
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…
September 13, 2019
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…
September 11, 2019
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…
September 6, 2019
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…
September 6, 2019
“Sometimes a story deserves a new look."

“Sometimes a story deserves a new look.”

Miami Herald reporter Julie K. BrownMiami Herald reporter Julie K. Brown has gotten a lot of reverse ink in recent weeks — not in stories by her, but about her. Brown…
July 19, 2019
"Truth is whatever you can get enough people to believe."

“Truth is whatever you can get enough people to believe.”

You can’t turn around in the U.S. these days without bumping into a cry of “Fake News!” or a news story decrying the same. Not that spin is a modern…
July 5, 2019
"As I wrote, I was also being written."

“As I wrote, I was also being written.”

Novelists often speak of their characters as real people. They are people who have lives that existed before the moment the novel begins and outside its frame, and who reveal…
June 28, 2019
"There are more what-ifs than there are stars in the sky."

“There are more what-ifs than there are stars in the sky.”

Jill Lepore is not a florid writer. No trickery with words. No embellishments to wow the reader. Rather, her writing typically demonstrates deep curiosity, methodical reporting, and clear connections. If…
June 14, 2019
Getting in the writing zone

Getting in the writing zone

A chronic reality of writing: It’s a struggle.Or so it often (always?) seems if you’re the writer. You aren’t sure whether your information is sound, where to start your story,…
May 31, 2019