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...
Coronavirus underscores the breadth of business reporting
The coronavirus pandemic is dominating headlines, generating stories on issues touching nearly every aspect of lives.
Jim Pumarlo...
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...
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...
Moving from routine to highly relevant: How to improve meeting coverage
This column is aimed at every single journalist working anywhere in the world now and in the future.
Initiate conversations with your readers
A reader questions your policy for reporting suicides. A retailer challenges your staff to produce timely and relevant business news. A reporter...
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...
Assume the attitude of a lifelong learner
More art than science. More craft than vocation. More a calling than a profession.
All these statements are true about our chosen field of journalism....
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...
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....