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Thursday, November 20, 2008 4:16 AM

The New Military Campaign

Longtime readers of News Gems know that I'm a huge fan of two-time Pulitzer winner Paul Salopek of the Chicago Tribune. In 2006 I named his "Tank of Gas, World of Trouble," the #1 News Gem of the year. This week Salopek is back with another masterpiece.
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Wednesday, November 12, 2008 5:44 AM

Barack's Hometown

In "Uncommon Ground," Peter Slevin of The Washington Post does a terrific job of describing Barack Obama's neighborhood of Hyde Park. Slevin mixes observation with quotations and descriptions to give us a tour of this unusual Chicago neighborhood:
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Wednesday, November 05, 2008 5:47 AM

A Local Look at Federal Spending

In a thought-provoking series, "Follow the Money," Dan Stockman of The Journal Gazette in Fort Wayne, Indiana, helps local readers grasp the scope of federal spending. Here's an excerpt from part 1. Over the next two weeks, The Journal Gazette will follow
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Thursday, October 23, 2008 1:38 AM

The Gangs of New Jersey

"Gangs at the Shore" by Ed Johnson in the Asbury Park Press is a chilling series on the growth of violent gangs in New Jersey's shore towns. Some of Johnson's most revealing scenes take place on the gang members' turf. Bangs Avenue in Asbury Park and
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Friday, October 10, 2008 3:47 AM

Speed Racers

Like the lyrics of a Bruce Springsteen song, "The Need for Speed" by John Larrabee in the October issue of Rhode Island Monthly describes the quest for thrills by teens and young adults on Saturday nights. Larrabee uses concrete details to show
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Thursday, October 09, 2008 4:27 AM

The Needle and the Damage Done

The spread of heroin and other drugs in suburban and small-town America is brought to life—and death—by Mario Quadracci’s “Contagious” in Milwaukee Magazine. Quadracci introduces us to Ben Stibbe, a user and dealer who was charged with first-degree reckless
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Wednesday, October 01, 2008 4:45 AM

The Battle for Ramadi

Neil Shea's "Ramadi Nights" in The Virginia Quarterly Review is a haunting narrative about young American marines as they hunt for information about insurgents in Iraq. Shea's story follows members of the Third Battalion, Eighth Marine Regiment, as
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Thursday, September 18, 2008 5:59 AM

American Road Trip

The St. Petersburg Times is running a fast-paced series, "Detours: A Country in Search of Direction," based on a neat idea. With the election approaching, they sent reporter Ben Montgomery and photographer Chris Zuppa on a road trip from St.
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Thursday, August 28, 2008 5:33 AM

Back to Burma

Remember how Cyclone Nargis devastated much of Burma (Myanmar) in early May, killing perhaps more than one hundred thousand people? The story has disappeared from the headlines because few American journalists have ventured into the totalitarian country
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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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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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Monday, June 09, 2008 6:53 AM

Lure and Connect

An intriguing title and blurb can pull readers into a story they'd otherwise skip. Here's how Rebecca Dube of The Globe and Mail begins "Senior High," her series on a Toronto retirement home named the Terraces of Baycrest: Fast Times at Senior High
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Friday, May 30, 2008 6:06 AM

Sights and Sounds

I love the way Andrew Lee Butters starts his "Welcome to Hizballahstan" in the May 26 issue of Time with a sharp mix of sight and sound accented with a strong quotation: Surrounded by a ring of mountains like a concert band shell, Beirut
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Thursday, May 29, 2008 6:16 AM

Bringing the Troops Home

Bryan Bender and Kevin Baron of the Boston Globe have done some outstanding reporting on military affairs. In December we highlighted "Army Knew of Cheating on Tests for Eight Years." Now they have produced an excellent Memorial Weekend series, "Finding
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Thursday, May 15, 2008 8:25 AM

Trash Talk

The cologne-scented pages of the May GQ feature a wonderful story about, of all things, garbage. In "This is Paradise," Jeanne Marie Laskas describes with pungent detail the Puente Hills Landfill near Los Angeles and the philosophical men and massive
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