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The Pitch: Landing a “definitive narrative” in The Atavist Magazine

Editor Seyward Darby: "I definitely want people who are willing to strip a story down to its basics and figure out how to build it back up."

By Carly Stern • August 18, 2022

Four years of reporting follows new threads in a previously reported crime story

Katia Savchuk spent a year pre-reporting before she pitched The Atavist on a nuanced story of crime and mental illness

By Carly Stern • August 17, 2022

From the Editor

J-school everywhere, everyday

A new school year comes with potential, but the lessons needed for great story work are all around us

By Jacqui Banaszynski • August 16, 2022

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Strictly Q&A

Four years of reporting follows new threads in a previously reported crime story

By Carly Stern

August 17, 2022

Katia Savchuk spent a year pre-reporting before she pitched The Atavist on a nuanced story of crime and mental illness

Strictly Q&A

A meteorologist attracts an audience with casual writing and controversial views

By Stuart Tomlinson

July 8, 2022

'Celebrity" weather scientist Cliff Mass of the University of Washington has drawn fans and detractors with his blog, book and podcast

Strictly Q&A

A science writer with comedic timing profiles an alligator with star power

By Trevor Pyle

June 21, 2022

A newcomer to the Los Angeles Times pings off an obscure anniversary to retell the story of an unlikely celebrity

Strictly Q&A

Writing about the unthinkable pain of child suicides

By Mark Johnson

May 6, 2022

Author, essayist and lecturer Andrew Solomon weaves statistics and personal pain to explores the toll that depression takes on young children

Strictly Q&A

A view of Ukraine, from an America journalist who has made his life there

By Lisa Grace Lednicer

March 31, 2022

Fired from the Kyiv Post over editorial independence, Brian Bonner now is an editor without a newsroom: "Part of me feels like an amputee."

Strictly Q&A

A successful investigative career and a vision led Jim Morris to take a risk

By Julia Shipley

March 18, 2022

The Pivot: Neither the pandemic nor uncertainty blocked Morris' launch of a start-up devoted to public health reporting

Strictly Q&A

Not your usual police report

By Lisa Grace Lednicer

March 10, 2022

When Lt. Tim Cotton took over the Bangor, Maine, Police Department’s Facebook page, he made it into a social media sensation

Strictly Q&A

Reporting trauma: Nathan Rott on the tragedy of the Granite Mountain Hotshots

By Clarise Larson

February 17, 2022

The NPR reporter honored his "no-knock" rule to find personal stories about the loss of a wildlands firefighting crew

Strictly Q&A

How a reporter found the true story behind a false story of sex trafficking

By Trevor Pyle

February 15, 2022

Jessica Contrera of The Washington Post revealed the numerous victims of a viral internet thread, from a retailer to a 13-year-old girl

Strictly Q&A

Reporting trauma: Moni Basu on following an earthquake survivor

By Gentry Hale

February 10, 2022

The former CNN reporter returned to Haiti several times to follow a young woman who had been trapped in the rubble

Strictly Q&A

Reporting trauma: Jessica Ravitz on farmer suicides

By Jason Stahl

February 3, 2022

Ravitz made time and space for a daughter and son to talk about their father's death in hopes of helping others

Strictly Q&A

Reporting trauma: John D. Sutter on Hurricane Maria

By Richard Forbes

January 27, 2022

Sutter spent a year following victims of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico for CNN, and gained insights about taking care of story subjects and himself.