Strictly Q&A

The route to a Pulitzer in opinion writing: rigorous reporting

The route to a Pulitzer in opinion writing: rigorous reporting

A newcomer to a tiny newspaper in rural Texas brings fresh eyes, big-city experience, a drummer's rhythm, and some "swagger" to his editorials
June 24, 2020
Madeline Bodin
A day-in-the-life profile of a grocery store during the coronavirus shutdown

A day-in-the-life profile of a grocery store during the coronavirus shutdown

With a cell phone, an eye for evocative detail and 50 pages of notes, Brittny Mejia of the Los Angeles Times turned a day at a grocery store into a…
June 2, 2020
Trevor Pyle
Triple profile: A mountain town, a beloved newspaper, and an unlikely hero

Triple profile: A mountain town, a beloved newspaper, and an unlikely hero

A veteran foreign correspondent finds a hero tale in a tiny California town: "A story is a story no matter where it takes place."
May 6, 2020
Chip Scanlan
A "nut case" buys a mountain town newspaper to save it

A “nut case” buys a mountain town newspaper to save it

Four months after acting on impulse, what has a non-journalist local hero learned about the romance and reality of journalism?
May 6, 2020
Jacqui Banaszynski
A writer channels her own life of fear to report about science and psychology

A writer channels her own life of fear to report about science and psychology

Award-winning freelancer and outdoorswoman Eva Holland weaves memoir and research in her debut book "Nerve"
March 31, 2020
Kim Cross
Calling out Olympic officials' past failures as coronavirus threatens the 2020 Games

Calling out Olympic officials’ past failures as coronavirus threatens the 2020 Games

Sally Jenkins has been writing for the sports section of the Washington Post going on 20 years. The Associated Press and the Society for Professional Journalists have named her the…
March 18, 2020
Dale Keiger
How the personal narrative can make the difference between prison and release

How the personal narrative can make the difference between prison and release

A veteran journalist discovers the role of story in America's prison system — and "human resilience and grace in the face of adversity"
February 25, 2020
Trevor Pyle
When the story we cover becomes our own

When the story we cover becomes our own

It’s an all-too-familiar story. Another American factory closes, the latest in a long line in the last three decades that has seen American manufacturing devastated by foreign competition. This time…
January 10, 2020
Chip Scanlan
Coming home from stories of war

Coming home from stories of war

 Last month, journalist, filmmaker and military veteran Zack Baddorf made a plea, in an essay for Nieman Reports, that more veterans consider careers in journalism and more newsrooms hire veterans.…
December 4, 2019
Hope McLeod
Three core story principles, along with tea, baked goods and endless enthusiasm

Three core story principles, along with tea, baked goods and endless enthusiasm

Venerable breaking news site Reuters ventures into narrative journalism with former L.A. Times and Storyboard editor Kari Howard at the helm
November 1, 2019
Julia Shipley