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Friday, September 05, 2008 6:03 AM

Problems with Probation and Parole

In an outstanding series, "Law and Disorder," Doug Pardue and Glenn Smith of The Post and Courier examine South Carolina's broken probation and parole system. They engage, and probably enrage, readers by describing horrific crimes committed by repeat
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Thursday, September 04, 2008 5:26 AM

Broken Trusts

In January we highlighted a Boston Globe story, "Courts Strip Elders of Their Independence," produced by eight Northeastern University students overseen by journalism professor Walter V. Robinson. Five of Robinson's students have created another
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Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:20 AM

Marching on Meds

"The Battle Within" by David Olinger and Erin Emery of The Denver Post reveals that the Army is deploying injured troops to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, at times overruling doctors' classifications of soldiers as "nondeployable." This helps the Army
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Friday, August 29, 2008 5:51 AM

The Courageous Kid

It's not often that we feature stories about funerals on News Gems, but Mike White's "Funeral for a Teen Whose Bravery Touched So Many" in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette grabbed my heart. White does an amazing job of using simple words to richly describe the
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Wednesday, August 27, 2008 5:33 AM

Hurricane Warning

As Hurricane Gustav strengthens and heads toward the Gulf of Mexico, "New Orleans Repeating Deadly Levee Mistakes" by AP's Cain Burdeau raises alarming issues. Signs are emerging that history is repeating itself in the Big Easy, still healing from Katrina:
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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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Monday, August 25, 2008 6:09 AM

Failing the Mentally Ill

"Broken Trust" by Eileen Kelley and Dan Horn of The Cincinnati Enquirer shows how city and state inspection systems designed to protect mentally ill nursing home residents broke down at two facilities. Cincinnati police Officer Aaron Layton was hunting
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Thursday, August 21, 2008 5:50 AM

Empty Classrooms

In 2001-2005, Milwaukee Public Schools spent $102 million building new classrooms, science labs and libraries to revamp neighborhood schools and thus reduce the costs of busing by convincing parents to choose nearby schools. In an excellent series, "Subtraction
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Wednesday, August 20, 2008 1:18 AM

Asking Tough Questions

On July 17 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, 11-year-old Lakeisha White was struck and killed by an unmarked patrol car driven by Sheriff’s Detective Ron Killings. Local police said it appears that Lakeisha darted out in front of Killings, but on August 3 Daily
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Tuesday, August 19, 2008 6:31 AM

More Description Stars

A big thanks to everyone who responded to Thursday's News Gems post about the best describers in American newspapers with suggestions of more great writers. (And our apologies to everyone who tried to leave a comment but couldn't; we're working on
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Monday, August 18, 2008 6:07 AM

Mortgage Fraud

On August 12 we featured a Miami Herald investigation into Medicare fraud in South Florida. Today we'd like to highlight another Miami Herald series, "Borrowers Betrayed," on how Florida became the national leader in mortgage fraud. The series, written
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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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Thursday, August 14, 2008 6:40 AM

The Best Describers

Which newspaper writers are the best at describing people and places? I have three nominations, all of whom we've featured in News Gems before. Jeffrey Fleishman of the Los Angeles Times has been writing wonderful dispatches from Egypt and the
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Tuesday, August 12, 2008 6:39 AM

Medicare Fraud

A six-month Miami Herald investigation has found rampant Medicare fraud in South Florida. A wide-ranging series of reports by Jay Weaver shows that corruption flourishes while regulators do little to stop it. Consider this statistic: In 2005, South Florida
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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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