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Chapter 14
 

IMHO:

EXPRESSING YOUR OPINIONS AS A JOURNALIST

 

Examples

Exercises

 

FIRST PERSON

 

When done well, first person can sometimes be the best way to tell stories, says the Columbia Journalism Review's Jina Moore.  She describes four journalism examples where it's especially effective.

 

 

HOW TO WRITE BLOGS AND OTHER OPINION PIECES

 

A good opinion piece is short, focuses on a well defined point, and has "clarity of thinking," according to these helpful tips from the Journalist's Resource (at Harvard's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy).

 

Brian Klems at the Writer's Digest has a list of pointers for bloggers that are also helpful for journalists who want to start a blog.

 

The Stanford University Libraries website has a helpful section on the legalities of linking to other websites.

 

 

YOU CAN FIND 

PRIZE-WINNING COMMENTARY

AT

THESE SITES

 

The Hillman Prizes

 

The Online Journalism Awards

 

The Pulitzer Prizes

 

 

Featured

"'It's usually 8:15 or 8:20 when I get home at night," says Cherry, who has been doing this merciless long-distance commute for 16 years, getting by on just 4½ hours of sleep each night. "Nine hours of work and six hours of commuting. That's my story.'"
"So You Think Your Commute Is Bad"

 

Steve Lopez's prize-winning column for the Los Angeles Times reads kind of like a feature news story as he builds his argument through the eyes of one of his sources, which he nails down with his final paragraph.

"Once a month he schedules his debtors on the docket. If they pay, they don’t have to show up. If they don’t, he issues a warrant for their arrest. Many of them are like Nicholas T. McNab, men or women who long ago served their time. Now they’re paying for it."
"A Tale of Two Counties on Opposite Ends of Missouri's Debtors' Prison Cycle"

 

Tony Messenger’s prize-winning column about Missouri’s practice of charging inmates for their room and board uses a problem-solution structure It's one of several on the topic. (paywall)

"Why didn’t I report my rape to the Dallas police 34 years ago — when my job was covering the Dallas police for a local newspaper? Because I knew he was right when he asked, strictly rhetorically, whether they would believe new-in-town me, whose reporting they didn’t always appreciate, or well-off and well-connected him, who hahaha obviously didn’t have to rape anyone."
"Don’t Judge Kavanaugh’s Accusers. I Covered the Police and Didn’t Report My Own Rape"
 

Melinda Henneberger uses her first-hand experience as she explains why people might not come forward to report being raped. It's one of the columns that won her a nomination for the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in commentary. (paywall)

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