Question to a successful writer (newspapers, magazines, book) who now does contract editing for top mastheads: What are your expectations for a clips search when a writer pitches a story? Answer: That they did one. After we stopped laughing, … Read more
EDITOR’S NOTE: This essay and analysis on journalistic language was first published by our friends at The Poynter Institute, and is shared with permission. One of my favorite songs by the great Aaron Neville is “Tell It Like … Read more
Worthy books are released almost every day. No doubt more than a few authors bemoaned the publication of their hard work this past year, when so much of the world’s attention was distracted by a lethal pandemic and lethal … Read more
Oh, to study those yellowed pages, with words pecked by a typewriter, then crossed out and scribbled over and typed on more pages. To marvel at those scrapbooks — more than two dozen of them — holding clips dating … Read more
The email that pinged my inbox Wednesday, as an assault on the U.S. Capitol was at its most intense, was quick and blunt: “Aren’t you glad you’re not out there?” I responded with similar blunt speed: “No. Read more
One of the most heartbreaking realities of the coronavirus pandemic is particularly harsh: Patients usually die alone, separated from their loved ones with only a cellphone or iPad to say goodbye, while a nurse holds their hand. And with … Read more
A version of this essay was published as the Storyboard newsletter on Jan. 1, 2020 A flip of a calendar page and, just like that, 2020 is over. Of course, it wasn’t just like that. It wasn’t like anything … Read more
At the end of this, a year that defies easy summary, we abandon attempts to try. Instead, here are two bits of lagniappe that came our way and we pass along to you. We hope you find them useful, … Read more
Cal Hooper is a Chicago cop who was ditched by his wife, estranged from his daughter, haunted by past cases and addicted to the action. Somewhere along the way, the guiding line between right and wrong became fuzzy. Fed … Read more
I started with the notion of trying to wade through the weeds of this past year and list the things that kept me in astonishment as a reader, writer, editor and citizen. The list of excellent journalism was pages … Read more
