Hey Folks,
Sorry to keep harping on story ideas, but the ability to come up with, refine and pitch story ideas is one of the most important skills we have as journalists.
So let’s talk about pitching an idea to your editor:
– How do you decide what to say in your pitch (What you’re going to tell [...]

Leezel Tanglao (Summer 2003) wrote in an essay posted to the CQS website in September that despite all the upheavals in daily journalism, some joys endure. One is the network of professional and personal friends made through the CQS program, a network she seeks to nurture and build on wherever she goes.

So it’s no surprise [...]

Hello Dear Scholars!
So now your eyes and ears and taste buds and mind are on full alert in your new communities as you try to rustle up story ideas. And you’re noticing/hearing new and wondrous things each day.
But how do you take an observation or other information and turn it into a story idea that [...]

Looking back…(due before your internship ends)
Showing, not telling…(due Aug. 2)
Story organization…(due July 25)
Getting the lead out…(due July 18)
Oops! (due Sunday, July 11)
Pitching Story Ideas (due July 4)
Refining Story Ideas (due June 27)
Finding Story Ideas (due June 19)
Greetings from….. (due June 12)

Dear Scholars,
At some point this summer (often sooner than later) you’ll be expected to generate your own story ideas.
Now is the time to start coming up with these ideas for your papers/pubs.
Please share with us the steps you’ve taken so far to identify stories in your new community.
Thanks,
Coach Col

Interview with Jorge Ramos, anchor, Noticiero Univision
By Luis Carlos Lopez, CQS ‘10

When Jorge Ramos came to the United States from his native Mexico in 1983, he knew he wanted to be a journalist. Three years later, at age 28, he would become one of the youngest anchors in the history of American television, one [...]

Hello Summer 2010 Scholars!
For our first post, please ask a question that has occurred to you or outline a situation that has come up during your first few days or weeks on the job….something about which you’d appreciate hearing our thoughts, suggestions, experience.
Also, please weigh in with your thoughts or suggestions about (at least) one question [...]

Spring Chipster Lisa Song offers a blogger’s glimpse into the tiny Colorado town where she is living and covering environmental and science issues for High Country News magazine.

Spring
May 7, 2010

The snow started to melt near the end of March, leaving great patches of soggy mud. Here’s the view from above town, where everything [...]