The Writing Coach Podcast 15: How Nelson Mandela taught me to write faster
Today’s episode addresses two questions I get asked all the time, but never together: How can I write faster? What brought you to South Africa? These are somewhat surprisingly interconnected for me, and today i’m going to share with you one of the lessons Mandela taught me–how to write faster. Listen to episode 15 of […]
The Writing Coach Podcast 14: Reporting behind bars with Shaheen Pasha
Listen to episode 14 of the Writing Coach Podcast: WCP14 Reporting behind bars with Shaheen Pasha Shaheen Pasha is an educator and journalist. Today we’re talking about her work training both university students and inmates as journalists at the University of Massachusetts. This isn’t jail porn. Subscribe to The Writing Coach Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Android, or RSS. Shaheen Pasha is […]
What to listen to (podcast recs for a short walk or long flight)
I have a literal to-be-read pile of books by my bed. I’ve always enjoyed reading one book for a while, getting into that voice, that story, that writer’s head, and then after 50 or 100 pages, or maybe just after dinner, reading something else. It becomes more of a conversation, the way ideas from one […]
The Writing Coach Podcast 9: Longform articles and short documentaries with Christopher Clark
09: Longform articles and short documentaries with Christopher Clark Christopher Clark is a freelance journalist and filmmaker. He recently co-directed two documentaries about people living on the fringes of South African society for Al Jazeera and the BBC. Subscribe to The Writing Coach Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Android, or RSS. Christopher Clark is a freelance journalist and filmmaker. He’s reported from […]
What freelance writers can learn from Cape Town’s Day Zero
As a freelance journalist based in Cape Town, South Africa, the full meaning and impact of Day Zero is revealing itself both incredibly fast (what about this? and that! and the other?!) as well as incredibly slowly (such as the city’s non-release of details about logistics, or queuing for water). What is Day Zero? In […]
Modern Journalist Toolkit 6: Yusuf Omar on Reporting with Snapchat
Yusuf Omar is a cell-phone trailblazer. He finds unconventional uses for apps like Snapchat, Facebook Live, and 360 video for telling serious news stories, most of which are viewed on small screens. Omar is the new mobile editor at the Hindustan Times, one of India’s largest English newspapers, with a print circulation of more than […]
What to watch: Movies for the media
This trio of films have all found audiences with the general public, but may have particular resonance with journalists, photographers, and related members of the media. Finding Vivan Maier “Finding Vivan Maier” is both an introduction to the work of the prolific street photographer, as well as a dive into who she was and why […]
Mandela’s South Africa
Even when it’s expected, death still surprises. Prior to Mandela’s death, I had numerous conversations with editors about content that they wanted to have at the ready. It’s standard practice for news organizations to prepare obituaries of well-known people on file, but the preparations for Mandela were extreme. In the hours and days after the […]
How do you answer, “Who do you write for?”
Like most questions about freelace writing and journalism, the real answer here is, “It depends.” When sending a query to a new-to-me editor, typically my bio line lists a few credits tailored to the publication. If, say, it’s a enviro/science story, I’ll mention Discover and Ensia; architecture editors find out about Dwell; education editors are […]
The Raitt Stuff
Perhaps my biggest-name interview is Bonnie Raitt. (Though amongst us English major types, Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka is right up there.) Hers was a hard interview to secure, but once we began, she turned out to be one of the easiest and most gracious (can I just say “best”?) interviewees I’ve ever spoken with. I […]
Mandela, from Parliament and Prison
Reporting and filing two complete stories in one day is not the schedule I normally run on, but talking to people about the person who helped them clarify their purpose and vision is powerful stuff. I started out the morning visiting one of the prisons where Mandela was held–one that is still maximum security–for this […]
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