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
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
This is one of those stories that makes us believe all over again in journalism, in its power to bring truth to light. Pasternak’s use of narrative in certain chapters of the piece makes suffering real. These scenes and characters … Read more
[Editor’s Note: These comments are adapted from a talk given by Michael Pollan at the 2006 Nieman Conference on Narrative Journalism.] Book by book, project by project, it’s usually hard to say who you are as a writer or what … Read more
This story seems to have followed a recipe for compelling narrative: Take a heroic figure, add a group of “endangered children, let them struggle against great odds. Fold in current social issues and moral context. In the Hollywood version of … Read more
“Life means suffering.” According to the Buddha, that is the first of four “noble truths” that together define human existence. I’m not much of a Buddhist (I’m a lapsed Catholic who owns a rarely used meditation pillow), but as a … Read more
[Editor’s note: This essay first appeared on transom.org, “a showcase and resource for new public radio.”] Dear Transomistas, It was daunting to have Jay Allison’s invitation to be a guest on Transom.org, because I’m no insider to radio production. I … Read more
Here’s what Erika Hayasaki wrote us when she sent this piece: "This is an example of going back after the news is ‘over’ and finding the richer story. I read the news story in the LA Times one morning. The … Read more
[Note: The following is an edited transcript from a talk at the 2001 Nieman Conference on Narrative Journalism. It first appeared in the Spring 2002 issue of Nieman Reports.] The ending is something special. The ending is the last word. Read more
This is a piece with a somewhat boilerplate topic: a child in need of radical surgery and her mother’s emotional struggles. But we thought Theriault did well in reporting for the thoughts and feelings of the mother. The piece, Theriault … Read more
