How an old story taught new lessons about reporting trauma

A quarter-century after a catastrophic fire, a reporter returned to interview survivors and faced the grief she had carried with her

By Line Vaaben • April 4, 2024

A memorial to one of the 63 young people killed in a 1998 disco fire in Sweden

2024 Power of Narrative: Double the power of your story with a braided structure

In a long feature story, two related or resonant threads can be woven to make a piece that is both complex and clear

By Madeline Bodin • April 3, 2024

Reverse engineering and story construction

Blueprints, patterns, schematics and other building plans provide a model for building a more effective story with less struggle

By Jacqui Banaszynski • April 2, 2024

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A first-time war correspondent finds human stories in a devastated Ukraine

February 21, 2024

Washington Post reporter Lizzie Johnson volunteered for a Christmas-month rotation in Ukraine, where she filed intimate narratives as well as news

Confessions of a flawed proofreader

By Jacqui Banaszynski

February 20, 2024

The editor corrects and apologizes for a fact error, and muses on the challenges of seeing glitches in our own writing

Two journalists talk to the bots — who talk back — about the pros and pitfalls of AI

By Casey Frechette and Chip Scanlan

February 16, 2024

"Once we accept that AI is flawed, we can use it responsibly, even relish in what it has to offer." ~ journalism professor Casey Frechette

Story treats from cookie jars

By Jacqui Banaszynski

February 13, 2024

The editor, inspired by a collection of vintage cookie jars at a country diner, muses on the trove of stories found by revisiting history.

Analytics aren’t the only measure

By Laurie Hertzel

February 8, 2024

A retired journalist revisits letters sent by readers early in her career, and is reminded that stories touch people in ways we never know

A reporting team trekked back 50 years to explore an unsolved climbing mystery

By Chip Scanlan

February 6, 2024

In "Ghosts on the Glacier," John Branch and a New York Times multi-media team tell a tale with echoes of the 2012 Pulitzer-winning project "Snow Fall"

Kim Cross wins Truman Capote nonfiction award

By Jacqui Banaszynski

January 31, 2024

By Jacqui Banaszynski We received a lot of thumbs-up in response to the two-part post (November 2023) featuring nonfiction author Kim Cross. Our pieces featured an interview with Cross about how she landed a contract for her book, “In Light of All Darkness,”… Read More