Author

William F. Woo

William F. Woo, a 1967 Nieman Fellow, was editor of The St. Louis Dispatch from 1986 to 1996. After leaving The Post-Dispatch, he became Stanford University’s Lorry I. Lokey visiting professor of journalism and in 2005 was the interim director of its graduate journalism program.

Defining a Journalist’s Function

In one approach to finding a definition, it turns out that being a journalist is about doing journalism.
December 15, 2005

Looking Behind the Scenes of Political Coverage

A study compares national presidential press coverage with local reporting on congressional races and emerges with some unexpected findings.
September 15, 2005

Freedom and Liberty: Tough Stories to Tell

‘When freedom and orthodoxy collide, it’s interesting to note how the press behaves.’
March 15, 2005

Journalism’s ‘Normal Accidents’

By exploring theories about how organizations fail, a journalist understands better what is happening in newsrooms and why.
September 15, 2003

The Siegal Committee Report

Examining suggested changes through the lens of normal accident theory.
September 15, 2003

The Bridge Between the Classroom and Journalism

The purpose of journalism education can’t be addressed without determining why journalists do what they do.
December 15, 2002

Reporting International News in a Serious Way

Coverage needs to reflect ‘the same values that are given to reporting news at home.’
December 15, 2001

Journalism and Myth

Do They Create a Cautionary Tale?
September 15, 2001

‘Just Write What Happened.’

Imposing a narrative structure doesn’t always work.
September 15, 2000