This is an engaging reconstruction. It’s very explicitly reconstruction, with its retrospective and explanatory quotes. It’s a tale of a man reflecting on his life, telling his story, after many years of keeping it to himself. This is part of … Read more
Scenes, character, a human voice and the first person soften and enliven the investigative approach in this piece about gruesome deaths on Western oil and gas fields. Lacking clear statistical evidence, Ring builds his case against the industry through narrative: … Read more
Not long after reading this quasi-narrative about U.S. soldiers who have deserted the military, we came across a piece in The New York Times about increased prosecutions of such deserters. The Times piece is not at all narrative; it offers … Read more
Here’s what Sandoval e-mailed us about this story: “Most young journalists believe they have to spend six months or so to publish a quality narrative piece. But that’s not always the case. While this was not a daily narrative, I … Read more
Katharine Moser asks for a genetic test to determine if she will eventually develop Huntington’s disease. She learns she does carry the gene mutation that caused the death of her grandfather and other relatives. Harmon follows Moser as she struggles … Read more
Rather than reconstruct a tale of crime from the victim’s perspective or after the suspect is found guilty—approaches we see more often—O’Hagan tells the story of a cop. The story becomes one of how difficult it can be to build … Read more
Schmickle and the project’s editor, Laurie Hertzel, wrote us the following comments on this project: Sharon Schmickle: Two years ago, I began hearing that several thousand Liberians had arrived recently in Minnesota bearing tales and trauma from their West African … Read more
Bearak’s use of first person is especially unusual in this piece about Adam Greenberg, a baseball player who, on his first day in the Majors, gets beaned in the head by a ball. Greenberg’s career is set back, perhaps for … Read more
This account of the 2006 California heat wave that killed 138 people cruises on the drama of the event, focusing on one man who died soon after driving his tractor in a farm field in 110-degree heat. The piece also … Read more
Our “mawkishness meter” went pretty high on this story, but we’re curmudgeons. It’s an effective, intimate story of devotion and faith. The two-part series was published on Christmas eve and morning. Manry says she and her editor, Scott North, imagined … Read more