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May 6th, 2012 It’s complicated … and that’s the point. Journalism doesn’t have all the answers, and we shouldn’t expect it to. We shouldn’t expect our stories to solve things for us. Journalists’ primary role is not to answer the challenges that face our society: it’s to bring light to those challenges, so that those with the proper Read the rest of Journalism of the Unknown Unknowns May 3rd, 2012 There’s something about the way this machine and my fingers interact, about the immediacy and the physicality of words landing on the page that isn’t replicated on a computer screen. Read the rest of Tool of the Trade May 10th, 2011 Stories now simmer Words gathered chopped stirred and mixed Their flavor seeps out April 13th, 2011 I admit that the story – and this entire series, delayed as it may be – has meandered from its path. Nevertheless, I’m also wrestling with how to respond honestly to my experiences, with what happened in my brain on the journey and whether it’s self-indulgent to serve this soup of thought (it’s a little too stagnant to call it a stream) to you, instead of a straightforward report of the who and the what I saw where and when. Which approach provides the real, honest reporting? Read the rest of Heart of the Monster: Journey to SEJ 2010, Part 3 January 4th, 2011 For the next week or so, each day I’ll recount some element of my October trip to and from the 2010 Society of Environmental Journalists conference. I’ll combine my recollection of what I saw, experienced or learned, tweets I made at the time, photographs and links to some of the cool things I learned. Check back each day for new reflections, tales and reports. At the end of my updates I’ll post a link to read the story as one narrative (and post a complete photo album as well). Be prepared. This series will include a mix of storytelling styles — don’t expect straight journalism, or complete creativity. In fact, don’t expect anything but a journey. More than two months after I’ve returned from one journey, though, I’ve yet to trace its path. I still haven’t traced my trip from Portland to Missoula and back, and I can’t quite express why not. Perhaps I don’t feel like the trip’s over, like I’ve truly returned. Perhaps I can’t record it until I’ve described it, until I’ve wrapped the journey in words and pictures and recollections that I realize are fading with each day. Some of you might not be interested in such ponderings. “Get to the point,” you’ll say. “Tell me about the conference. Tell me what you learned, what you saw along the way, what the latest news is. I only have so much time. Don’t you know attention spans are ever so slight? Haven’t you ever heard of an editor?” Indeed I do, and I have. As I’ve noted elsewhere, as so many have noted before, though, to truly travel you can’t simply move from Point A to Point B. You can’t experience this world’s multiplicity of dimensions through a straight line. The truth is, of course, I did wait to write this down. I let the story fester. I let it fall away and apart. Like anyone might, I’ve been making excuses for months now for not chronicling my trip. My terrible cold on the road. Assignments due just upon my return. Job applications. Novel Writing. Story development. Other conferences to attend as a reporter. Holidays. I could think of any number of reasons why you’re reading this now, today, this very second, and only now, but this is the moment, this is when these words take shape. Read the rest of Roads traveled, stories unraveled June 11th, 2010 Will following the footsteps of Melville Jacoby, a World War II correspondent and my grandmother’s cousin, help me cover the gulf oil spill? Read the rest of Following a War Correspondent’s Footsteps to the Oil Spill May 26th, 2010 Earlier this month, as quite a few of my most recent readers know, I was diligently participating in the 2010 Blogathon. It has been an interesting experiment for me. I tend to resist writing for frequency. I think writing with intention is so much more meaningful. Part of me also strongly resists writing about Read the rest of Where I’ve been May 18th, 2010
Michelle Rafter, Blogathon Organizer and Owner of WordCount One of the more interesting features of the 2010 Blogathon is today’s guest post exchange day. Blogathon participants have wandered about the Internet to post on each other’s blogs. Visiting Lascher at Large today is
Read the rest of Guest Post – All for one and one for all: why writer communities May 17th, 2010 Some statistics about my participation in the 2010 Blogathon as of May 17, 2010: Posts that have traveled through time: 4 Story pitches made to outside publications instead of turned into posts: 3 Percentage of posts made after 11 p.m.: 90 Instances of nakedness while composing/posting items: 3 Drafts written in bath tubs: Read the rest of Accounting May 7th, 2010 Like Jen Willis, today I attended an investigative business journalism seminar organized by the Reynolds Center. Unlike Jen, though, I don’t feel as pessimistic about the potential for freelance journalists to do investigative work. Nor do I feel staff writers should lament, at least not for the long term. What I took Read the rest of The Free(lance)dom to Investigate |
      
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