Hey Friends,
Please share part of a story you’ve written or read that illustrates the idea of showing the reader information, not telling him/her.
Here’s my example from a story I wrote long ago for The Providence Journal (as near as I can remember it). The lead, something like:
“The town councilman and the aging widow had [...]

Hello Chipsters!
I believe there are as many ways of organizing a story as there are writers, as I said in my e-mail to you.  Story org. can be a tricky thing to master, and there’s some subjectivity in it, as I’m sure you’ve learned during sessions with your editor.
When you sit down to write, how [...]

Chips Quinn would have celebrated his 55th birthday on July 20, 2010.
John C. Quinn thought his birthday would be an appropriate occasion to reprint a copy of the last memo Chips wrote to his staff while editor of the Poughkeepsie (N.Y.) Journal — and to remind Chips Quinn Scholars everywhere that his spirit lives [...]

By Diane Lee, CQS ‘10

I rented an apartment in this building within walking distance of downtown Bend, Ore. It had a living room, kitchen area, two bathrooms and a king-size bed with more pillows than I needed. I felt at home.

I met a lot of transplants from Hawaii in Bend and even found two Hawaiian [...]

Heyyy Chipsters!
Let’s talk a bit about the mechanics of writing, starting with that all-important lede. Please share one of your favorite leads, and tell us why you like it.
(Photogs and copy editors, please share a lead you’ve read that you like and tell us why.)
Extra points for telling us why journalists sometimes refer to [...]

Moving on:
Jason McKibben (Spring 2005) is a photographer for The Post-Star in Glens Falls, N.Y. Previously he did freelance work in Maine.

Ana Cubías (Spring 2008) is a reporter for El Tiempo Latino in Washington, D.C., where she previously was an intern. She says, “I cover issues including immigration, foreign affairs dealing with Latin America [...]

Hello Scholars!
Who has had to run a correction on a story, photo caption or copyediting error (or has had to talk to his or her editor about whether to run a correction)?
Please share your experience – how it happened, how you handled it, what you learned from it.  And any other advice you might have [...]

By Kiah Haslett, CQS ‘10
My desk at the Chicago Tribune is littered with yellow Post-it notes and pieces of paper pinned to the sides of my cubicle.
There are directions for setting up voice mail, a list of “helpful websites” and instructions on how to file for www.chicagobreakingbusiness.com and get into the news computer system.
I have [...]