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.

Back-seat story magic

Back-seat story magic

By Jacqui BanaszynskiReporter friends after swap tales about the stories and tips they picked up from cabbies when they travel on assignments. That’s seldom been successful for me. First, I’m…
Making prison stories relevant and relatable

Making prison stories relevant and relatable

By Jacqui BanaszynskiPrison stories are a special challenge for journalists. The gold standards of journalism are relevance and relatability. But it can be hard for many readers and listeners, if…
Staying cool in the face of heated criticism

Staying cool in the face of heated criticism

By Jacqui BanaszynskiEverybody talks about the weather — more than ever these days. But not everybody gets death threats for their comments.Yet that’s what happened to Chris Gloninger, a chief…
The unlimited shelf life of story ideas

The unlimited shelf life of story ideas

By Jacqui BanaszynskiAfter our mother died, my brothers and I gathered to clean out and sell our childhood home. An inevitable part of that process was to sort through her…
The necessary work of writing

The necessary work of writing

By Jacqui BanaszynskiFor five years now, I’ve been acutely aware of the arrival of Friday mornings. Not because my datebook tells me so. Not because the weekend is ahead. But…
What to do when pronouns can confuse

What to do when pronouns can confuse

By Jacqui BanaszynskiWhen the folks at Webster-Merriam embraced the use of “they/them” as singular pronouns, the reaction from those in the writing world ranged from relief to indignation to celebration.…
Deadline journalism unplugged

Deadline journalism unplugged

By Jacqui BanaszynskiThe recent issues I could write about for Storyboard are many: the pros and cons of using a thesaurus; how we both hunger for and dread feedback on…
Inspiration and planning for the next chapter — of life and writing

Inspiration and planning for the next chapter — of life and writing

By Jacqui BanaszynskiLast week life brought me one of those full-circle gifts. I’m hosting my friend Cristian Lupsa for a few days in Seattle and at the mountain cabin. I…
End notes: The neglected art of story walk-offs

End notes: The neglected art of story walk-offs

By Jacqui BanaszynskiI still remember, with a wince and a laugh, the time I was fretting over a conference keynote. I had X amount of time, X-plus amount of material…
Journalism prizes as motivation, not destination

Journalism prizes as motivation, not destination

By Jacqui BanaszynskiFor four decades now, I’ve laid down a motivational challenge for myself: Can I be involved in at least one journalism project each year that wins a significant…