The Art of the Interview: How to get the goods during COVID-19
The basis for almost all great journalism is the interview, the act of obtaining information from a source. With less in-person meetings...
Meaningful meeting reports demand substantive leads
Newspapers smartly are promoting their roles as government watchdogs to reinforce their strengths in the fractured media landscape. I join the chorus: Vibrant coverage...
Questioning why the Times is chucking tradition for change
Jim Stasiowski
Writing
Writing coach Jim Stasiowski welcomes your questions or comments.
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Resolve to be accessible, stay relevant
Surviving in today’s fractured media landscape depends on your ability to identify, collect and deliver the relevant community news. That job becomes more challenging...
Stories come to life when reporters find ‘real people’
Police, government officials and experts have a lot of knowledge and are easy go-to sources for reporters working in understaffed newsrooms with...
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...
Digging deeper: How to find opportunities (and time) to go in-depth
Bart Pfankuch is the content director for South Dakota News Watch, an online public-service journalism group. He can be reached...
Be responsible in exercising rights to public information
A divorce is finalized, but it is not recorded in the newspaper until four months later.
Someone appears in court for a domestic assault, but...
The ‘blue shirt’ won. Is that the best we can do?
Local names and faces are the lifeblood of community newspaper content.
There’s no better way to spotlight your readers than through photos. After all, “a...
Solutions Journalism – Reporting on problems while seeking solutions
With a few simple questions and just a little extra effort, reporters and editors can quickly improve the quality and value of...