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...

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...

All hail the hard-news lead

We all love a good yarn, a tale told with colorful detail and interesting characters who face challenges and change over time. For years, both...

“Hey you: Get the heck out of the office!”

In the Internet age where information is easy to get, it may seem almost quaint to seek out first-hand, up-close, eyes-on experiential reporting opportunities. With...
Jim Stasiowski, writing coach

Slow-learner, brick-by-brick approach to collecting facts

Jim Stasiowski, writing Writing coach Jim Stasiowski welcomes your questions or comments. Call him at (775) 354-2872 or write to: 2499 Ivory Ann Drive Sparks, NV 89436.It took 12...

A writing journey we’ll take together

Bart Pfankuch Better Writing with Bart Jim Stasiowski, a veteran writing coach whose superb writing advice appeared in the Bulletin for many years, has retired. Beginning with this...

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...

Make it a mantra: ‘Get one more source’

Bart Pfankuch is an investigative reporter for South Dakota News Watch, online at sdnewswatch.org. Email him at bart.pfankuch@sdnewswatch.org

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?...

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...