Classroom

By Jim Pumarlo A mayor takes issue with an editorial that criticized a city council action, calling your facts into question. Irate parents challenge your decision – your right – to report their son didn’t dress for the basketball game because he was suspended for violating school policy. A pastor …

By Ken Blum Sing along, please: There’s a time for joy A time for tears A time we’ll treasure through the years We’ll remember always Graduation Day Okay, so no you’ll never be invited to join the Four Freshmen or the Beach Boys, but I hope you’re in the spirit …

I came across this cheat sheet I used for years as a story-planning guide, so I thought I’d update it. Below is a .pdf to download. I know I stole it from some workshop I attended years ago, so I’m sorry I’ve forgotten to whom it should be attributed. And …

By Kevin Slimp There is a rule of thumb which almost always proves to be true at newspaper conventions: attendance drops drastically on Saturday morning. There are plenty of theories on the subject from “too much fun on Friday night” to “heading home to be with the kids.” Whatever the …

By Jim Stasiowski This month, I depart from my usual presentations of strategy and tactics, many of which are my thoughts and opinions rather than facts that I can support with objective proof. In other words, at least some of you probably stand up and shake your fists at my …

By Jim Stasiowski One of my favorite failures was my story about professional wrestling. (In my youth, it was called “wrassling,” and no, I didn’t see matches in the Colosseum in Rome. Mom and dad wouldn’t let me go.) The story was my idea. A young reporter in Florida back …

By Kevin Slimp An editor in South Carolina wrote to me yesterday, “I’m always amazed at your productivity.” I get that a lot these days. Since yesterday, I’ve written an opinion piece that’s already filling my inbox with responses from readers; my fictional weekly serial, The Good Folks of Lennox …

By Kevin Slimp There’s a reason I love my work so much. There’s a reason that there are folks around the country waiting for me to return their calls while I’m writing this column. They can wait. This is more important. I love my work for the same reason that …

A scene from one of my long walks: Ahead of me 10 paces on the sidewalk was a cylinder, flesh-colored. As I got near it, I wondered: Could it be a human finger? When I got there, I realized it was a bandage, perfectly rolled, that recently fit on someone’s …