Hank Stuever

Author

  • home
  • books
  • bio
  • blog
  • tv criticism
  • media room
  • contact

Popular Culture Journalism (JOUR494): Class recap for Nov. 28 — Emergency landings

November 29, 2012 by Hank Stuever Leave a Comment

Mayday! Jour494 is circling for a landing. And the pilot is losing consciousness. And the wing is on fire. No, wait, both wings are on fire! Which is to say that some people are still trying to find a story to write for their final assignment. The only good news is that there are no motherfucking snakes on this motherfucking plane.

I can’t look. Tell me what happens. All I know is: WE ARE CRASHING.

Continue Reading...

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Jour494, Journalism 494, Popular Culture Journalism class, University of Montana School of Journalism, writing

Popular Culture Journalism (JOUR494): Class recap for Nov. 26 — name of dog, brand of beer

November 26, 2012 by Hank Stuever Leave a Comment

On Monday, we finished up critiquing the Nov. 7 scene stories. For my general diagnoses of these stories as a whole, please see the Nov. 19 recap. Meanwhile, here are excerpts from the three stories that I liked best, and why. (I haven’t fixed anything — the copy you’ll read here is exactly as it was filed to me.)

Continue Reading...

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: 000 Silver Dollar, 50, Allison Bye, Bob Barker, Eben Keller, Eben Wragge-Keller, Gene Weingarten, gold party, Hank Stuever, Jour494, Journalism 494, Maryland House, Pollner professor, Price is Right, Style section, T. Anthony Pollner, Tom Holm, University of Montana School of Journalism, Vanity Fair Oscar party, Washington Post, William Booth, writing

Popular Culture Journalism (JOUR494): Class recap for Nov. 14 — Won’t you be my neighbor?

November 15, 2012 by Hank Stuever 2 Comments

We spent a fair amount of time Wednesday discussing Tom Junod’s 8,100-word profile of Mister Rogers. It ran 14 (!!) years ago in Esquire and it’s still one of those pieces that makes me tear up. It’s beautifully constructed. Its paragraphs are dense but many of its sentences are deliberately simple, mirroring Fred Rogers’s way of speaking to children. Yet the story is also very deeply felt and intellectually considered.

Continue Reading...

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Fred Rogers, Jour494, journalism, Journalism 494, Pollner seminar, T. Anthony Pollner, Tom Junod, Tom Junod Mister Rogers story, University of Montana School of Journalism, writing

Popular Culture Journalism (JOUR494): Class recap for Oct. 29 — What is this REALLY about?

October 30, 2012 by Hank Stuever 1 Comment

My day never really gets going until I read what Nancy Nall has to say, as well as her regular commenters. Reading her blog has been a daily habit for, gosh, maybe a decade now.

Lately, both in class and in the Kaimin critiques on Friday (the student-run paper at the University of Montana), I’ve been trying to stress clarity and finesse in stories. You can know the basics of newswriting (fives W’s, one H, arranged in inverted pyramid, and hello, where is the nutgraf?) and still spend the rest of your career struggling to make it all clearer, more coherent, uncluttered, smoother. Many times I find myself asking what the story I’m reading is about — especially with feature stories, whether by students or in the nation’s best magazines.

Continue Reading...

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: David Finkel story about family who watches television, Jour494, journalism, Journalism 494, Pollner professor, Popular Culture Journalism class, Stephanie Hayes Tampa Bay Times, Susan Orlean, Susan Orlean The Shaggs, Tampa Bay Times, The New Yorker, The Shaggs Philosophy of the World, University of Montana School of Journalism, writing

Popular Culture Journalism (JOUR494): Class recap for Oct. 24 — television without pity

October 25, 2012 by Hank Stuever 1 Comment

Busy class on Wednesday. We finished up critiquing the personal essay riffs: Dustin on “Lost”; Cody on “The Gong Show” reruns; Ashley on “Supernatural” and boy bands; Allison on “The Office’s” Jim & Pam romance; and Carli on loving the ’80s, even though she missed the ’80s entirely. Good discussions.

Then we talked about progress (frustrations, too) on scene stories. Sounds mostly good; some are still casting about for the right scene to go cover. Not quite time to panic yet — still about 10 days to figure it out, report it out, and file by Nov. 7. Somehow we still managed to talk for half an hour about who/what/where/when/why/how and pitch some more ideas. Come by and see me if you’re having problems.

Continue Reading...

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: David Finkel, David Finkel story about family who watches television, Jour494, Journalism 494, Pollner professor, Popular Culture Journalism class, University of Montana School of Journalism, Washington Post

Popular Culture Journalism (JOUR494): Class recap for Oct. 17 — How they did that scene story

October 19, 2012 by Hank Stuever Leave a Comment

Washington Post photo: Evy Mages

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 follows the scene at Washington, D.C.’s first-ever “tweed ride” of people who share the common wish that the 21st century could be more dandy and old-fashioned.

(For links to all of these stories, go to the bottom of Monday’s recap.)

Continue Reading...

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Dan Zak, Green party convention Roseanne, Hank Stuever, Jour494, journalism, Journalism 494, Michael Kruse, Michael Kruse Tampa Bay Times, Monica Hesse, Pollner professor, Popular Culture Journalism class, Robin Chotzinoff, rock paper scissors tournament, scene story, T. Anthony Pollner, tweed ride, University of Montana School of Journalism, Westword, writing

Popular Culture Journalism (JOUR494): Class recap for Oct. 15 — the divine scene story

October 16, 2012 by Hank Stuever Leave a Comment

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 is, in a way, a scene story: What happened, but also, what did the courtroom feel like as it happened? What did people say during court recess, in the hallways? What did people wear? How did they react to evidence, testimony, verdicts? And, of course, what is the news?

Continue Reading...

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Dan Zak, Green Party convention, Hank Stuever, Jour494, journalism, Journalism 494, Michael Kruse, Monica Hesse, Popular Culture Journalism class, Robin Chotzinoff, rock paper scissors tournament, Style section, Tampa Bay Times, The Washington Post, tweed ride, University of Montana School of Journalism, Westword, writing, Yankee Candle

Popular Culture Journalism (JOUR494): Class recap for Oct. 1 — The Context of No-Context

October 3, 2012 by Hank Stuever Leave a Comment

George W.S. Trow’s long essay about American culture and the irreversible effects of television on the national psyche, Within the Context of No-Context, was first published in the New Yorker’s Nov. 17, 1980, issue. It took up nearly the whole magazine. It changed people — and also irritated many. It still has the effect of blowing some readers’ heads off (mine, about 15 years ago) and leaving others puzzled and even cold. If you haven’t read it, you should. (Here’s a tiny taste.) The essay begins:

Continue Reading...

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Brooks Johnson, George W.S. Trow, Jour494, journalism, Journalism 494, Lindy West Law and Order, personal essays, Sam Anderson water parks, Sandra Tsing Loh, Sarah Vowell take the cannoli, University of Montana School of Journalism, Within the Context of No Context, writing

Popular Culture Journalism (JOUR494): Class recap for Sept. 26 — group critiques of essays

September 27, 2012 by Hank Stuever Leave a Comment

We spent the entire class period Wednesday doing roundtable critiques of the reported essays. For the handful of you reading this blog way outside of room 301, this is where we’re mostly going to have to leave you out of the fun. When it comes to this part of the process, what happens in room 301 stays in room 301.

I split the class into two groups last week: Group A read all of the essays in Group B; and Group B read A. They were encouraged to mark them up like crazy. For the critique sessions, I put the essays in random order. We spent roughly six minutes on each — and we still have a few left to do on Monday, before we try to figure out George Trow.

Continue Reading...

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Brooks Johnson, Candace Rojo, Carli Krueger, Chacos, corndogs, cowboy hats, Eben Keller, Eben Wragge-Keller, Glenn Moomau, Hank Stuever, Heather Jurva, Jour494, Journalism 494, Missoula, neglected guitars, orange earplugs, Pollner, Popular Culture Journalism class, University of Montana School of Journalism

Popular Culture Journalism (JOUR494): Class recap for Sept. 24 — scene stories

September 27, 2012 by Hank Stuever Leave a Comment

Tampa Bay Times

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 a horrible tug between needing to be tough and wanting to be kind. You’d think three years of eviscerating TV shows would lend itself to grading 17 essays. You’d be wrong. I have to factor in hopes and dreams here.)

Continue Reading...

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Dan Zak, Hank Stuever, journalism, Journalism 494, Michael Kruse, Monica Hesse, Pollner professor, Popular Culture Journalism class, Prince Harry, Tampa Bay Times, University of Montana School of Journalism, Washington Post, writing

Next Page »
Follow Us on RSSFollow Us on FacebookFollow Us on Twitter

Recent Posts

  • I got nowhere else to go
  • Not forgetting, but forgiving
  • Chuh-click-click. (One of my favorites)
  • Book giveaway! Book giveaway! GRANDMA GATEWOOD’S WALK by Gangrey’s Ben Montgomery
  • Frankincense and whirr

Recent Comments

  • Recognizing resilience on 20th anniversary of Oklahoma City bombingivoh on Not forgetting, but forgiving
  • Nancy Adkisson on Not forgetting, but forgiving
  • Liz on Not forgetting, but forgiving
  • Laura Keefe on Not forgetting, but forgiving
  • Jolene on Not forgetting, but forgiving

Archives

Tags

1980s Albuquerque Tribune book promotion book reviews books book tour Brooks Johnson criticism Dan Zak David Finkel Derba Frisco Texas Gangrey Gene Weingarten George W.S. Trow Goodreads Hank Stuever Heather Jurva Henry Allen Joan Didion Jour494 journalism Journalism 494 Martha Sherrill Monica Hesse New Mexico New Orleans newspaper design newspapers Oklahoma City One-Man Book Club Pollner Pollner professor Popular Culture Journalism class SNL Homowatch Style section T. Anthony Pollner Tampa Bay Times television tinsel Tom Holm University of Montana University of Montana School of Journalism Washington Post writing

Copyright © 2019 Hank Stuever