Yesterday afternoon Columbia University announced this year’s Pulitzer Prizes in New York. So many journalists and writers were waiting online for the magic moment that the befuddled Pulitzer site … Read more
One of our sister sites, Nieman Reports, has just posted its latest issue, “The Beat Goes On.” You can take a gander at the issue in its entirety, but we thought we’d include some highlights for those of … Read more
Digital innovation is providing new tools with intriguing possibilities for storytelling. At the 2010 Online News Association Conference last weekend, Webbmedia’s Amy Webb presented tech trends she thinks might find a place in the future of news. (Before … Read more
In what might be the only performance of Texas stand-up comedy about narrative writing, Vanity Fair writer Bryan Burrough recently offered practical tips for long-form storytelling to a Mayborn Conference audience. Prior to his magazine career, Burrough spent … Read more
We spoke this week with writer Ian Johnson about his new book, A Mosque in Munich. After winning a Pulitzer Prize in 2001 for his coverage of the Falun Gong movement for The Wall Street Journal, Johnson went on … Read more
This narrative follows the efforts of one woman to help her son, a 10-year-old with progeria, a disease that causes rapid aging and early death. The mother is also a doctor; she’s a compelling character, and her quest to find … Read more
There’s a lot of engaging subtext in this piece; it’s a deft character study. Meckler writes in plain language but tells a complicated story, of family dynamics and psychological struggles. We admired her portrayal of the son Mark Foster’s filial … Read more
We admired the plainness of this story’s language. It is as if the horror of the event stripped Henninger’s voice of all pretense. He gives a blow-by-blow account, with summation in only one paragraph. The piece was published the day … Read more
This narrative of horror and escape is plainly and clearly told. Published the day after the 9/11 attacks on New York, it must have helped readers begin to hold the enormity of the event in their minds. Years later, its … Read more
McKay’s march of harsh details form a bleak and informative picture. She writes in a frank, detached tone, with strong verbs and tight sentences. She shows that intimate reporting can reveal economic and social trends. Her ending, in which she … Read more