From the Editor

How narratives defined a Queen and a Queen changed a narrative

How narratives defined a Queen and a Queen changed a narrative

The Queen is dead. Long live the King.OK, that may be the most predictable line I’ve ever written, but a version of it has been working for the Brits for,…
Teaching (or learning) story craft? Storyboard is here to help

Teaching (or learning) story craft? Storyboard is here to help

We interrupt your syllabus prep with this important message:Consider Nieman Storyboard as a resource – and even publication destination – in your reporting, writing and journalism ethics courses.Storyboard is a…
Cutting through compassion fatigue with sensory writing

Cutting through compassion fatigue with sensory writing

War can become an abstraction unless, of course, you’re in the middle of it. We can read about it or see images, which often are more powerful than words in…
Storytelling that reaches through your feet to your soul

Storytelling that reaches through your feet to your soul

It’s probably a good thing I missed the memo about suggested attire to the Chicks concert earlier this month. I don’t have a straw cowboy hat. My days of strappy…
J-school everywhere, everyday

J-school everywhere, everyday

The start of a new school year is upon us. That may have some feeling excited — days spent with old and new friends, new adventures in learning and all…
Bill Russell, unbeatable on and off the court

Bill Russell, unbeatable on and off the court

Tributes this past week to basketball great Bill Russell were as many as they were deserved. I couldn’t follow them all, which is a pity. Sportswriting and obituaries often display…
Do Not Erase! the magic that happens on deadline

Do Not Erase! the magic that happens on deadline

A fave recent story find: a tight little feature in the Boston Globe: ‘Please do not erase’: A treasured whiteboard at Boston’s Children Hospital has not been touched for 15…
Bear essentials and beyond

Bear essentials and beyond

Stand-out story craft never loses its luster. But it really is time to start sharing gems from my STORYBOARD SAVED file before they lose their sparkle. With no particular order…
Francis X. Clines: The consummate newspaper journalist

Francis X. Clines: The consummate newspaper journalist

Every afternoon when I was a kid, the Green Bay (Wisconsin) Press Gazette landed in the driveway of our house. Actually, squinting back, I think it got tucked between the…
When your saved story becomes one more overstuffed space

When your saved story becomes one more overstuffed space

One of the few things I appreciate about Facebook, besides tours of my friends’ faraway lives and photos of the babies being born to my former “Baby Js”, is the…