Another year comes to an end with another year-in-review post. I guess you could call it a NewsLab tradition. Taking a look back at the year gone by is one way to get a sense of what NewsLab readers are most interested in; it's also …
How many times have you heard this advice? Make sure your story has a beginning, middle and end. Even the great Lewis Carroll shared a version of the standard counsel in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: "'Begin at the beginning,' the King said, very gravely, 'and …
NBC's Bob Dotson has never been one to follow the herd. He's built a career out of telling the stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things on his American Story franchise for the Today Show. How did he get where he is? "I think almost every …
When the actor Paul Walker died in a car crash, the Associated Press reported a touching tribute from his Fast and Furious co-star, Vin Diesel. "Brother I will miss you very much," said therealvindiesel's message on Instagram. "Heaven has gained a new Angel." The quote drew …
The elements of engaging stories are universal: strong characters, plot, beginning-middle-end, tension, surprise, resolution. What's more, they're central to every kind of story, not just features. Just ask investigative reporter Daniel Zwerdling, who has reported on everything from pesticides to mental health in his 30 plus …
What exactly is MSNBC thinking? The way the cable news network has treated two of its hosts lately makes you wonder if the suits are thinking at all. Both Martin Bashir and Alec Baldwin got themselves in hot water for making offensive remarks. But the …
Another breaking news story, another list of news media mistakes. Same old, same old, right? Except this time, a new question came up: Are breaking news mistakes even worth covering anymore? That question raised by Politico media columnist Dylan Byers came on a day when multiple …
With newsrooms placing more and more emphasis on social media, basic blogging may seem to have lost its value for journalists. Not so, says John Ensslin who writes the Bergen Beat blog for NorthJersey.com, the website of The Record newspaper. He says people who care about …
It's a perennial question and the answer keeps changing: What are TV news directors today looking for in new hires? For Geoff Roth, who's building a new television newsroom from the ground up at Fox 46 in Charlotte, N.C., the list is long and challenging. …
No matter what kinds of stories you cover, you’re bound to run into public information officers. And while paid professional spokespeople can be a huge help to journalists, I used the term “run into” for good reason. All too often, PIOs act as barriers instead of …
He has a memorable name and a prominent job, but public radio’s Kai Ryssdal followed anything but a typical career path on his way to anchoring the daily business program Marketplace. His story proves the truth of his own maxim: “Do what you love.” After eight …
When you get something wrong in a news story, how do you make it right? Newsroom policies--if they even exist--usually cover the timing and placement of corrections in legacy media and online, but social media are rarely mentioned. That's a big oversight, considering that errors …
