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Narratives (RSS)

Tuesday, August 26, 2008 6:11 AM

Two Fighters

I like columnists who go out of their way to do their own original reporting. Few do it better than the Los Angeles Times' Steve Lopez, who has a knack for finding compelling stories in places far from the corridors of power. For this column
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Friday, August 15, 2008 6:42 AM

The Battle for Georgia

"Georgia Soldiers, Civilians Break Down on Road to Battle," by Megan K. Stack of the Los Angeles Times, is a gritty report that brings us face to face with Georgian troops as they are overwhelmed by Russian air assaults. Stack wastes few words as she
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Monday, August 11, 2008 5:55 AM

Notable Narratives

Newspaper readers recently have been treated to three excellent narratives. "The Long Haul," a 7-part series by AP's Sharon Cohen, recounts a Minnesota National Guard unit's 22-month deployment for training and combat in Iraq. Cohen follows several soldiers
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Thursday, July 31, 2008 6:33 AM

A Child Must Testify

"Jessica's Trial" by Eric Adler of The Kansas City Star is one of the finest courtroom dramas we've seen. The story begins two days before the trial when prosecutor Lori Fluegel takes 12-year-old Jessica into the empty courtroom to help her work up the
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Monday, July 28, 2008 5:00 AM

The Searchers

David Filkins of the Albany Times Union and Lane Degregory of the St. Petersburg Times have written excellent short narratives that place readers in the middle of searches for missing persons. Here's an excerpt from Filkins' "In Fog's Cloak, a Search
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Thursday, July 17, 2008 6:25 AM

The Front Lines

Reading most American magazines, you would never know we're a nation at war. The July issue of Texas Monthly doesn't let us forget, however. Matt Cook's brilliant "Soldier" gives a first-hand narrative of what it was like to start basic training
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Tuesday, July 15, 2008 5:24 AM

Thinking Outside the Box (or Going Ape)

Yesterday we featured a story about gorillas. Today we want to give equal time to orangutans.   At first glance, it seemed like a simple story. A baby orangutan battered by his mother in a Colorado zoo was moved to a surrogate mother in the Milwaukee
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Tuesday, July 08, 2008 6:35 AM

Weaving Themes

When AP's Helen O'Neill wrote "Money Ruling a Remarkable Woman's Legacy," she could have focused on any one of several themes: disabilities, discrimination, public policy, triumph and tragedy. But by choosing to tell a love story, she was able to weave
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Monday, July 07, 2008 6:46 AM

The Good Shepherd

For five weeks in Iraq, Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Moni Basu and photographer Curtis Compton shadowed Chaplain Darren Turner as he counseled battle-fatigued soldiers. Their 8-part narrative, "Chaplain Turner's War," is a finely crafted package
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Thursday, June 26, 2008 6:07 AM

Just Wait....

Associated Press Texas sports editor Jaime Aron has written an excellent narrative about his premature twin sons' fight for life, "Born Too Soon." There's much to recommend this story – it has just enough details, it moves at a nice pace, Aron shares
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Wednesday, June 25, 2008 6:31 AM

They Watch Every Blip

"The Flight Watchmen" by Laura Blumenfeld of The Washington Post is a fine example of how to tell a larger story be tracking a few people through an ordinary day. The day starts slowly as Chan Browne, 44, makes a sandwich for his girlfriend's daughter's
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Wednesday, June 18, 2008 6:51 AM

The Housing Bubble

"Anatomy of a Meltdown: The Credit Crisis" by Alec Klein and Zachary A. Goldfarb of The Washington Post is a comprehensive, readable account of the housing boom and bust. In the first section of this three-part series, they trace the bubble's roots
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Monday, June 16, 2008 6:45 AM

Undercover in Myanmar

More than a month after Cyclone Nargis killed tens of thousands of people in Myanmar, the military regime continues to deny unhindered access to the disaster zone. To reach the affected regions, a Los Angeles Times staff writer hid in the holds of riverboats
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Friday, June 13, 2008 6:47 AM

Keeping Pace

Yesterday we featured The Des Moines Register's superb multimedia package, "Parkersburg Tornado: The Aftermath." Today we highlight a narrative from the Register's storm coverage, Ken Fuson's "Solidified by Sandbags." Fuson begins as the Cedar River
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Tuesday, June 10, 2008 6:13 AM

John Doe Steps Forward

In 1970, 13-year-old John Hunt was victimized by a serial pedophile, Dr. George Reardon, in Reardon's office at St. Francis Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut. Hunt, now an assistant features editor at The Hartford Courant, tells what happened next in
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