A standard — some would say ideal — approach to effective narrative nonfiction is to follow a single, primary character through an intimate journey that illuminates a larger social situation. The key is to find a person to follow … Read more
There has been a small but steady wave of recent stories focused on the plight of women in Afghanistan, who have been stripped of their rights — to jobs, to education, to choosing their wardrobe or having their hair … Read more
In the spring of 2021, when President Biden announced the withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Afghanistan, Anand Gopal knew there was an untold story concealed in the flood of media attention that the withdrawal would trigger. About a … Read more
Story craft surrounds us, not just in journalism but in pretty much everything I can think of. Proof, I guess, that humans are hard-wired for story. It teaches, informs, entertains, enlightens, cautions, guides us and more. I have been … Read more
War can become an abstraction unless, of course, you’re in the middle of it. We can read about it or see images, which often are more powerful than words in conveying the realities. As the war in Ukraine lurches … Read more
EDITOR’S NOTE: This tribute is shared with permission from our friends at The Poynter Institute. Frank Clines arrived at The New York Times in 1958, one year before the death of that most brilliant Times writer … Read more
Veteran U.S. newspaper journalist Brian Bonner has given the last 14 years of his career to Ukraine. As the longtime editor of the Kyiv Post, an English-language newspaper in the country’s capital, he directed a staff of reporters who … Read more
My neighbors across the street always have a banner flying from their porch. Sometimes they are holiday related, but mostly the colors of various sports teams. Many are international, thanks to their son’s passion for soccer. A few days … Read more
It’s not fair — and perhaps dangerous — to watch the Hollywood version of war. The good guys always win — or at least used to until Hollywood got a little messier and the lines between good guy and … Read more
Time and attention in recent days have gone to friends and former students in Ukraine, asking what the rest of us, as journalists and citizens, should know, how best to help, how they can get accurate on-the-ground news out … Read more
