By Jacqui Banaszynski Clichés are to good writing as fill in your preferred cliché here. A student of mine once challenged that notion. She insisted that clichés are a good thing: They are a universal shorthand — a way … Read more
By Jacqui Banaszynski The question has confronted me more frequently, its challenge heated by the contraction of newsrooms, rise of mis- and disinformation, indifference to facts, intransigence of opinion and a depressing distrust of the legitimate press. That question, … Read more
By Jacqui Banaszynski That phrase has stayed with me for years, since I read John Steinbeck’s last novel, which was cited when the iconic 20th century author was awarded the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature. It is, according … Read more
By Polly Basore Wenzl Picture a sandy-haired Dennis the Menace, 11 years old. He wandered into News Connect, the Wichita Journalism Collaborative’s pop-up newsroom, in the downtown library on a recent day. Our collaborative – a partnership of … Read more
By Erik Ness Most streets worth walking — and bars worth drinking in — contain multitudes. Writers love to have choices. But with so many options available, the challenge becomes guiding a reader into both the soul of a … Read more
By Jacqui Banaszynski Context is a core to good reporting, especially when current events are informed by history, law, geopolitics, culture, economics or the many other things that complicate modern life. A singular moment is seldom that. Context can, … Read more
By Jacqui Banaszynski You don’t need insider access, aka paid subscriber status, to the news to overindulge in speculation about the possible indictment coming down from a Manhattan grand jury against former President Donald J. Trump. You also probably … Read more
By Trevor Pyle It would be easy for a writer to jumble himself into knots of frustration writing about Tom Sizemore, the incendiary “Saving Private Ryan” and “Strange Days” actor who died last … Read more
By Jacqui Banaszynski As I read Celeste Ng’s most recent novel, I couldn’t help but think of George Orwell’s “1984” or Margaret Atwood’s “A Handmaid’s Tale.” Nor could I avoid echoes to discordant times in real life in recent … Read more
It’s a common and happy reframe among my retired friends: They are busier than they’ve ever been. They can’t remember how they managed to do all the things they needed to do — make friends, keep a house, have … Read more