Tips
Bedbugs bring out good enterprise
If you’ve been reading the stories about the infestation of bedbugs in New York City this summer, you’ll find this enterprise story interesting. At The New York Times, an enterprising reporter looked into the businesses and professions that benefit from the pests, under the headline, “Bedbugs bad for business? Depends on the business.” What makes [...]
10 tips to deal with adversity: video
Challenges of one kind or another face us every day. Some people thrive on the excitement of overcoming them. Others dread the experience. How we deal with adversity has to do with attitude. You don’t have to be a hopeless Pollyanna or a stringent realist. You just have to keep trying. Here are our top [...]
Think like readers, edit like journalists
At the Washington Post, readers are calling attention to minor errors that they say are affecting the news organization’s credibility. The public editor, Andrew Alexander, makes that point in his column under the headline, “As errors grow, so does a credibility gap.” Readers rightfully complained about the wrong use of a word in a headline, [...]
Put large numbers in context
We have brought up this topic before — how context and background can greatly benefit the telling of a story. Writers and editors learn to keep this top of mind when gathering, writing and editing content. A story in today’s New York Times about the devastating effects of the flooding in Pakistan is a good [...]
Keep your credibility
Credibility is vital to journalists and their news organizations. That’s not news. But it is a valuable mantra worth repeating — often. Consider this statement by Lucio Guerrero, former spokesman for Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, as reported in a New York Times story today: “Once you lose credibility, that’s the kiss of death.” Guerrero was [...]
Know when to be flexible: Video
A powerful trait in the workplace is flexibility. When you are flexible, you adapt to change, you are a productive member of the team and you work well with others. In today’s evolving profession, journalists must adapt more and more. Perhaps you have found yourself in that situation: adapt (or be left behind), produce (or [...]
