Posts Tagged ‘Dan Zak’
Another year, another List
Monica Hesse and Dan Zak’s 2013 edition of The Washington Post’s annual List is out, and it’s a good one. This is the 35th year that the Style section has put out an “in/out” List, a tradition begun by Nina Hyde and Jura Koncius in 1978. It was my great pleasure (and huge headache) to…
Read MorePopular Culture Journalism (JOUR494): Class recap for Oct. 17 — How they did that scene story
We spent most of Wednesday’s class period talking about the five scene stories I assigned for readings. These are each different kinds of scene stories, and I want the students to keep these handy as they work on their own scene stories, due Nov. 7. The first one is a ride-along (literally), as Dan Zak…
Read MorePopular Culture Journalism (JOUR494): Class recap for Oct. 15 — the divine scene story
We’re delving into scene stories now, and what do I mean by that? It’s a feature that’s not too long, heavy on narrative and vivid detail, that takes a reader into a place they might not normally go, or were too busy to get to, or don’t have the access to. Reporting on a trial…
Read MorePopular Culture Journalism (JOUR494): Class recap for Sept. 24 — scene stories
We’re a month into the semester, the pace is quickening, and the Pollner class is turning into a bit of a juggling lesson. On Wednesday, we’re going to be group-critiquing the reported essays. (Professor Stuever is also grappling with something he hasn’t thought one bit about since he left college: grades. How to grade? There’s…
Read MorePopular Culture Journalism (JOUR494): Class recap for Sept. 19 — beautiful (dark twisted) criticism
Gently onward, talking once more about great criticism and its role as a valid form of journalism. When it works, it’s a piece of art in and of itself — useful to the reader, filled with context and beautifully written. But try telling to that all those editors and publishers who, when faced with the…
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