Tag Archives: Writing

By Bart Pfankuch Depending on where you live and work as a journalist, there are two basic levels of importance when it comes to coverage of the agriculture industry: “very important” or “extremely important.” How and where food is grown or raised, how it is processed and transported, what it …

The following is reprinted with permission from Grassroots Editor, a publication of the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors, and was written for its annual Golden Quill awards for excellence in editorial writing. By Barry Smith When I was writing editorials, I kept in the back of my mind two …

By Bart Pfankuch Among all the changes in the news industry, perhaps the most impactful for writers is the dramatic expansion of outlets to obtain information. The grand old print paper and hard-copy magazines are still clinging to life, but now there is Facebook, MSN and Yahoo, blogs and Twitter …

By Bart Pfankuch Details, details, details… I hopped into a pickup the other day to take a ride with a man who has suddenly become a grass-roots activist in the fight to block a proposed gold mine in the Black Hills of South Dakota. We weren’t in the truck long …

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 Kevin Slimp In October, I traveled to Albuquerque, where I gave the Saturday keynote address at the New Mexico Press Association Convention. On Sunday morning, I caught a flight to Orlando, where I spoke at an international conference made up of newspaper and magazine publishers. My assignment in Florida …

By Jim Stasiowski It was a very busy day, and I really had no time to talk to a politician’s aide, but my boss said let’s be polite and give him a few minutes. So three of us – my boss, a colleague and I – listened as the smiling …