Using Your Voice
More on journalism and writing. This time the subject is voice. Specifically, when do you use your own? The issue occurred to me while reading a piece by New York Magazine's Jonathan Chait. Discussing the [...]
Spotting A Bad Argument
The Week has a columnist named Matthew Walther. He fills the role that many news sites increasingly reach for: that of the smart, conservative millennial thinker. There are fewer in circulation these days. As the [...]
Anatomy of a Pitch
What makes a good pitch? It's probably the single hardest question in freelance journalism. Before we can report a story, before we can meet people or analyze data or ask questions or find answers, first [...]
When You’re Stuck On A Pitch
I'm finalizing another post about the anatomy of a freelance pitch, but while writing it I had a thought. What do you do when pitch just won't come together? Forget how to lay the thing [...]
The Day I Decided To Do Better
For the first few years of my freelancing career my business practices were a little bit of a mess. That's not quite right. My business practices were a total disaster. No surprise though, because like [...]
Did We Fail?
Like many journalists, I am having a crisis of the soul. In the days since November 8's election a form of self reflection has become very popular among newsrooms of every stripe. Writing for the New York Times, columnist [...]