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...
Use your special insight to recommend election choices
Coverage of public affairs – recording the actions and inactions of governing bodies from local to federal levels – demands attention from newsrooms year-round....
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...
Press politicians on election promises
Elections are over, and you breathe a sigh of relief. The exhaustive campaign season has concluded, and newsrooms can return to some level of...
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...
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...
Pandemic no excuse for lazy reporting
Editors and reporters are facing some of their biggest challenges in gathering news during the pandemic. Access to everyday sources is increasingly...
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...
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...