As a baseball fan, I'm saddened by the death of Yogi Berra. He was one of the greatest catchers of all time. Even if you didn't much like the Yankees or Mets (count me in that number), you had to appreciate Yogi's career as a player …
You've probably seen the story. By now, millions of people have. Reporter Boyd Huppert of KARE-TV in Minneapolis calls it the story that broke the Internet--a feature about a little boy and his elderly neighbor that's been viewed and shared all over the world. Plenty has …
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 …
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 …
One challenge TV reporters face is deciding what details belong in a story. Too many and the story bogs down. Too few and it loses impact. What works in a story is "telling" detail: information that conveys a basic truth about a character or situation. Think …
Writing a two-minute TV news story is nothing like writing a screenplay for a movie. Or is it? Truth is, all writing has some things in common. Take this list from Emma Coats, a former screenwriter at Pixar, the movie studio. Of her 22 rules …
Do you write more than you read? One way to become a better writer is to read more. Here's how the Portuguese author Jose Saramago, who won the Nobel Prize for literature, once described his writing routine: "I write two pages. And then I read and …
We're starting the New Year here at NewsLab by looking back at the year before--just as we did at this time a year ago. In 2012, our readers not only wanted practical tips, they also gravitated toward posts about the state of the news business. …
Words have power and the most powerful word in a sentence should come last. I could have written: Words have power and the last word should be the most powerful one in a sentence. But that would have put the emphasis on "sentence" when I …
Video journalist Anne Herbst firmly believes in preparation. She does research on stories before leaving the newsroom. She shows up to assignments early so she can meet people and figure out in advance who might be a strong character. And she writes fast--an essential skill …
How would you define a memorable TV news story? For reporter Boyd Huppert, it's a story that connects with viewers, that goes beyond the facts to touch people in some way. To achieve that goal, Huppert looks for a character and a concept that will tie …
