It was the verb in this sentence in “Braiding Sweetgrass,” a reissued book of nature essays by Robin Wall Kimmerer, that captivated me. It’s a strong, active verb, so the sentence … Read more
Most 20-something sports journalists don’t find themselves covering something as raw and emotional as the aftermath of one of the deadliest natural disasters in American history. But here was Benjamin Hochman, sitting in the lobby of the Doubletree hotel in Dallas with the quarterback of Tulane University, who broke down in … Read more
In a work-related Zoom meeting recently, a colleague referred to Reddit as “lightning in a bottle.” I’m not entirely sure what that meant, despite her best efforts to explain it to my dial-up mind, but it made me want … Read more
As a reporter for the Metro section of the Los Angeles Times, Angel Jennings explores issues affecting residents in South Los Angeles. Throughout 2019, she was one of the primary bylines on stories about the life and untimely death of … Read more
It’s unlikely there was much money riding on Jeff Gerritt to win the 2020 Pulitzer Prize in editorial writing. His newspaper, the Palestine Herald-Press in Texas is tiny: daily circulation about 3,500. Gerritt … Read more
The U.S. Supreme Court this week (June 17, 2020) ruled that the Civil Rights act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, which the majority said were inherently included under … Read more
When looking for advice, writers shouldn’t be picky; sometimes even a fictional cannibal will serve. When NBC aired a series about Hannibal Lecter, the psychiatrist who moonlights as a serial killer — or maybe it’s the other way … Read more
It’s not possible for the everyday reader to know who wrote that sentence. The lead writer who was pulling feeds from several reporters in the field? One of the field reporters who had scratched it in theirs notes? An … Read more
On May 23, 2020, (May 24 in print), the New York Times landed a daring and historic front page: A wash of overwhelming gray, which jumped to two more gray pages inside the print paper. To mark the deaths … Read more
All news is the stuff of history. But some deserves more than a dusty archive to be stumbled upon by a research scholar. It is an immediate marker that demands be heeded for the ages. We are living in … Read more
