The George Polk Awards were established 73 years ago to honor George Polk, a CBS correspondent who was killed while covering the civil war in Greece. They now rank among the most prestigious prizes for journalism that places “ … Read more
Trevor Hughes likes to tell people he grew up on a dirt road next to an apple orchard in Vermont, where his parents received The Burlington Free Press every day. Hughes fell in love with the idea that journalists … Read more
EDITOR’S NOTE: The “Voices from the Pandemic” series has been awarded a 2020 George Polk Award in Oral Histories. Eli Saslow of The Washington Post has made a name for himself as one of the best … Read more
EDITOR’S NOTE: A version of this essay was first published Feb. 19, 2021, as a Storyboard newsletter. That was two days before the tragic news that COVID deaths in the U.S. had topped 500,000. In retrospect, this reflection seems both … Read more
It’s been just over two years since we wrote about Tyrone Beason, then a Seattle Times columnist who had fallen out of love with the city as its tech-fueled growth seemed to discard funk and character and anyone without … Read more
I love that feeling when a passage promises you that a story is worth sticking with. I had this experience recently when reading Wesley Morris’ profile of the late Cicely Tyson, who died last month at … Read more
EDITOR’S NOTE: This post was updated on June 1, 2021, with new information. Changes or additions are highlighted. If you’re feeling stalled and rusty in your writing, you’re far from alone. The pandemic disrupted the rhythm of our jobs, … Read more
It has become an all-too-common question, from students and young journalists and even struggling veterans: Why does this work matter if nothing changes? I could spend a lifetime of study and meditation to parse that question, and still find … Read more
Curiosity grounds all good journalism. Following up on curiosity — wondering about everything, and then caring to find out — is what makes journalism soar. Read more
Clichés are a bane of original writing. Unless you turn a worn and tired cliché on its ear (I sure hope you notice what I did just there) and make it new. Then all the meaning people attach to … Read more
