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...
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...
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...
“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...
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...
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...
If one tip can improve your work, it would be…this one!
Bart Pfankuch is an investigative reporter for South Dakota News Watch. Write to him at bart.pfankuch@sdnewswatch.org.
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...
How a reporter can avoid being laid off
Bart Pfankuch
Better Writing
with Bart
Bart Pfankuch, an investigative reporter for South Dakota News Watch, an independent, nonprofit public-service news agency online at sdnewswatch.org, will offer...
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...