Six essential steps to trend reporting
A major goal of news reporting is to keep readers abridged of things, so it makes sense that uncovering and understanding trends should be...
Plan now to recognize first responders
Are you looking for a project that can energize your news staff, generate new advertising revenue and underscore the value of a local newspaper...
Business coverage vital to your product and community
Editors are regularly solicited to publish news that puts merchants in good standing. In small communities, grip-and-grin photos of check presentations often dominate the...
Are you telling your own stories?
I circulated a column celebrating community newspapers earlier this year in recognition of Sunshine Week. Its publication prompted a few comments.
One reader, who hailed...
Deadline? What deadline? My story is already filed!
Doesn’t every
journalist want to wrap up the workday and be home with their kids or their...
Take steps now to report on 2024 local government budgets
We’re more than halfway into 2023, and many local governments are well involved in exploring 2024 budgets. Are your newsrooms aware of the process?...
Are you capturing all community voices?
Minnesota is in the spotlight following the recent death of a black man during a police arrest. Racial unrest has erupted everywhere...
Keep eye out for 11th-hour election volleys
Election Day is only weeks away. The hyper-partisanship of races at all levels – from local to state to federal – demands that editors...
Making a plan to write a terrific news story
Bart Pfankuch is an investigative reporter for South Dakota News Watch, online at sdnewswatch.org. Write to him at bart.pfankuch@sdnewswatch.org
Every...
Carefully screen columns by public officials
How will the Legislature deal with a record budget surplus, and what will it mean for taxpayer pocketbooks? Are there implications for public safety...