good: Poor Subway Station Design Creates Kinship Among New Yorkers- Dave Burdick posted in Cities, Environment and Public Transportation This New York Times story is a pretty entertaining look at how subway riders starting at an inconveniently designed station communicate to one another which type of train is coming—and therefore whether they should ascend or descend the stairs between platforms. Continue to nytimes.com This story is wonderfully written, and the reporter uses imagery rarely seen in news stories.
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good:

Poor Subway Station Design Creates Kinship Among New Yorkers
- Dave Burdick posted in Cities, Environment and Public Transportation

This New York Times story is a pretty entertaining look at how subway riders starting at an inconveniently designed station communicate to one another which type of train is coming—and therefore whether they should ascend or descend the stairs between platforms.

Continue to nytimes.com

This story is wonderfully written, and the reporter uses imagery rarely seen in news stories.

So, Michelle Obama was here

As a reporter for Wausau’s local newspaper, I had the opportunity to cover first lady Michelle Obama’s visit to the city yesterday. It probably goes without saying that it was a blast, even if I was originally supposed to have the day off.

Anyway, Gannett’s higher-ups keep telling us that we have to promote our content more (you know, in the annoying way television stations do), so here are some related links I would love for you to check out, if you can:

  • My Storify story of tweets and Facebook posts related to the event
  • The article I wrote about audience member reactions (it includes video! that I shot and edited!)
  • The mainbar article about the first lady’s speech, written by Ben Jones, another Gannett reporter
I worry about an over-reliance on abstract digital data points for measuring impact just as news organizations begin to take seriously what it means to engage with their communities in meaningful ways. In making their new mapping application Apple relied too much on data sets, without testing that data against the real world. Journalists shouldn’t make the same mistake.
Josh Stearns discusses What Journalists Can Learn from Apple’s Map Mishap « Groundswell. (via onaissues)

(via onaissues)

10 Pieces of Advice for Young Writers

nprmusic:

theatlantic:

  1. Care about things. Show it. Be funny, barbed, and pointed when needed. Slick is easy; don’t be slick.
  2. Confidence and arrogance will both protect you when people yell at you. One is vital and one is poisonous.
  3. Learn to be your own devil’s advocate. Interrogate your own arguments. Interrogate your point of view.
  4. Successful writers can play loud and soft and can make a variety of harsh and gentle sounds, just like great musicians.
  5. Look at the people whose careers you admire and think about their paths. Don’t assume you want the fast lane.
  6. If you are read widely, you will get blowback, no matter what. Don’t let it paralyze you, but don’t reflexively blow it off.
  7. If you try to make your fortune creating controversy, then even if it works, you’ll be expected to keep doing it.
  8. Being young doesn’t make you dumb or smart, important or irrelevant. But you’ll be a different writer in 20 years.
  9. “Win 20 in the show, you can let the fungus grow back and the press’ll think you’re colorful.” Obey deadlines and house style.
  10. You are entitled to be wrong, to feel embarrassed, to feel like a jerk, and to keep writing anyway.

[as told by NPR’s Linda Holmes]

Dovetails quite nicely with Ann Powers’ guide to writing about music.

Being a young writer at her first grown-up job, I’ve taken these to heart. I’ve already gone through a few of them, and I fully expect to meet the rest soon enough. Still, and always, learning.

(via the-kobayashi-maru)

Source: storify.com

Two observations

A guy recently emailed me and told me he thought a story I wrote was well-written and fairly reported. And I was almost amazed at how good that felt.

I’m not sure why, really. Maybe because this job is a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. Or maybe (read: probably) because it’s nice to feel validated.

Even so, I don’t know if I really believe him, as he is very clearly for one of the major players in this story.

Anyway.

It also made me realize that people are actually reading what I write. And it matters. This subject is a big deal for a small town, and the people there truly care about what happens to their community.

After writing for years for my professors and a little-read student newspaper, this is a big change for me. It feels like real journalism.

And it feels pretty damn good.

If I could entrust you with one piece of advice during your time at what I consider the best journalism school in the country, I would tell you this: fail.

No, not your classes, because — let’s face it — your professors won’t appreciate that and neither will your parents. But I want you to experiment with what you do, try different forms of storytelling, take a class in something completely foreign, get in front of the camera if you’re more comfortable behind it — all with the knowledge that you might not succeed.

Juana Summers, National Political Reporter for Politico and ONA Board Member, wrote a letter to journalism students at her alma mater Mizzou with great advice for young journalists. Read the full letter: ONA Mizzou: Letters Home - Juana Summers (via onaissues)

(via onaissues)