The hell with my lede. Let’s start with his:
I’m sitting in a hotel room in Columbus, Ohio, waiting for a call from a man who doesn’t trust me, hoping he’ll have answers about a man I don’t trust, which may clear the name of a man no one gives a damn about.
That’s how J.R. Moehringer [...]
Tag Archives: The Charlotte Observer
“Why’s this so good?” No. 26: Moehringer KO’s a mystery
January 3, 2012 – 11:38 am
2009 Nieman fellow Dorothy Parvaz detained: the scoop so far and what you can do
May 16, 2011 – 1:43 pm
[UPDATE: Good news! Iran has allowed Dorothy to return to Qatar. For more information, read our post on Dorothy's release.]
At a Nieman Foundation gathering over the weekend in Cambridge, a decade’s worth of current and former fellows joined with foundation staff to celebrate the tenure of departing Nieman curator Bob Giles. While journalists from around [...]
Tommy Tomlinson on Ze Frank, newspapers and what comes next
September 7, 2010 – 1:49 pm
Tommy Tomlinson has been a local columnist for The Charlotte Observer for the past 13 years but recently announced that he’s switching jobs to embark on a storytelling experiment for the paper. A former Nieman fellow and Storyboard contributor, Tomlinson was also a Pulitzer finalist for commentary in 2005. We’ve covered other innovative storytelling efforts [...]
Tommy Tomlinson: making words work for a living
October 27, 2009 – 11:17 am
A few years ago an intern did a study of the writing that showed up in our newspaper. He ran our stories through a computer program that measured the reading level you would need to understand each piece. It turned out that my stories were written at a fifth-grade level. If I remember right, I [...]
For Bill Brown, Main Street’s Home
August 30, 2006 – 11:14 am
There’s a 1950s-sitcom feel to this piece about a mentally retarded man who spends his Saturdays visiting his fans on Main Street—but it’s not hoaky. Leland sets a theme and builds it through evidence: concrete detail, dialogue and scene. The voice is more transparent than sentimental. The structure has two tracks: a Saturday with Bill [...]
She’s Driven
March 8, 2006 – 1:52 pm
Leland illustrates a trend and in the process crafts an entertaining story. Linda O’Neal is a schedule-driven chauffeur mom who says she loves the way she lives her life. Leland raises questions.
We enjoyed her portrayal of O’Neal’s kids, particularly the scene in which Riley first spots his sister from the car. And we admired [...]
Gaming to the Max
May 3, 2005 – 3:25 pm
The subject of this profile is Max, an 11-year-old who plays hours of video games each day. Leland calls him “Game Boy.” It’s a compassionate but discerning look at contemporary childhood. The playfulness of the lead reminds us of Susan Orlean’s wonderful piece “The American Man at Age 10.” But the tone of Leland’s piece [...]
