Archive

A conversation with Nathaniel Rich on “Losing Earth,” human inertia and storytelling as “a moral act”

By Rebecca Boyle• Notable Narratives• September 21, 2018

  Before anyone could even unfold the tree pulp, The New York Times Magazine wanted readers to know the magnitude of the story it had taken on. Editor Jake Silverstein announced on Twitter that the Aug. 5, 2018, print … Read more

“To the press alone, checkered as it is with abuses, the world is indebted for all the triumphs which have been gained by reason and humanity over error and oppression.”

By Lauren Kessler• One Great Sentence• September 19, 2018

Standing in the lobby of the gloriously ornate Chicago Tribune Tower, gazing  at this James Madison quote, I am filled with pride. And fear. The pride stems not only from being a long-time member of the Fourth Estate but … Read more

After the fires: A surprising story of a haunted hero and the ashes of regret

By Julia Shipley• Annotation Tuesday!• September 18, 2018

  Who knew there was a beat called “fire coverage,” or it was a job they would learn to love? Certainly not Lizzie Johnson, who was covering city hall for The San Francisco Chronicle, and not … Read more

An alligator attack sparks a Facebook attack – and an invitation to reconsider meanness

By Tom Warhover• Why's This So Good?• September 13, 2018

  I sat on a bench with Wade Livingston the other day. We talked about an alligator attack, a woman who drowned, and the people who saw fit to condemn her for the audacity to up and die while walking her dog. Read more

“No matter how long we study them, the images are unfathomable. No matter how quickly we look away, they are unforgettable.”

By Jacqui Banaszynski• One Great Sentence• September 12, 2018

Why it’s good: There are endless memories and memorials marking yesterday, the 17th anniversary of 9/11. I find it impossible to post about something else, but impossible to choose the right thing to post. Mostly I wish that the events … Read more

Christopher Solomon on how he captured the controversial wolf man of Washington

By Linda Shaw• Annotation Tuesday!• September 11, 2018

Before Christopher Solomon took on the case of the wolf researcher who ignited a political firestorm, the situation had sparked plenty of regional coverage. In particular, The Seattle Times, where Solomon reported for six years before his leap to … Read more

“Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.”

By Jacqui Banaszynski• One Great Sentence• September 5, 2018

This passage – not quite a Haiku, but with that feeling – comes as part of Mary Oliver’s poem “Sometimes.” It is introduced in the poem as “Instructions for living a life.” I’m not good at poetry (a gap … Read more

Rebecca Solnit’s long and winding road through the tangled tale of politics

By Jacqui Banaszynski• Why's This So Good?• September 4, 2018

The opening paragraph of Rebecca Solnit’s new LitHub essay, “Why the President Must Be Impeached,” is a single sentence, 88 words long. It is one of the shortest paragraphs in a 20-paragraph soliloquy about her take on the … Read more

“Do not despair of our present difficulties. We believe always in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here.”

By Don Nelson• One Great Sentence• August 29, 2018

This photo released by Hanoi's Vietnam News Agency shows Lt. Read more

The Pitch (Take Two): Erika Hayasaki on the reality of landing a big freelance story

By Katia Savchuk• Annotation Tuesday!• August 28, 2018

Erika Hayasaki was an award-winning reporter for the Los Angeles Times when she left the relative security of the newsroom for the feast-or-famine world of freelancing. She has since made her way into some of the nation’s top … Read more