Journalist’s Trade

Eclectic, Entertaining and Educational—The 21st Century Science Beat

‘While the science beat is old—dating back to even before Sputnik—the approach we take is new. ’

Family Beat: Stories We Tell Around the Kitchen Table

‘If we tell them well, it won’t matter what medium we use. They can be our saving grace.’

Advice About Beats

After Diana K. Sugg had been The (Baltimore) Sun’s medical reporter for six years, she wrote an enduring article about beat reporting for the Poynter Institute. In “Turn the Beat…

The Capriciousness of Beats

‘Sometimes the overlooked topics may be more important than the ones that dominate the headlines.’

The Blog as Beat

‘… the Internet changes the concept of the beat: A blog such as ours becomes a valued partner of political reporters offering them additional sources and fresh angles for stories.”

From Newsroom to Nursery—The Beat Goes On

‘That is when I had the epiphany: These early years of motherhood were like being a rookie reporter on the beat.’

Tanzanian Travels: Why Flexibility Matters

‘When heading off to Africa in these cash-strapped times, the expectation is that you will return with more than just a few stories. A daily radio show is a hungry…

A Correspondent for The New York Times Ends Her Reporting in Gaza — For a While

‘... I always say that I am not the story. I am out of it. I observe the place, and I describe it as it is. If I talk to…
Into Africa—With a Newspaper in Iowa

Into Africa—With a Newspaper in Iowa

With International Reporting Project support, ‘my story reminded Iowans that it’s not just the large coastal papers that bring them news from abroad.’
Chasing Haiti

Chasing Haiti

‘Spending enough time in a tormented country for the reality to truly sink in is a painful experience.’