You all killed it on your story pitches yesterday. Specific, thoughtful, laced with inherent conflict. Well done and a huge leap from the first time. Excited to see what you turn up. If you got a green light on your story, get on it and contact me for a word count. If I told you … Continue reading Friday and Next Week

Excellent hustle today on the blackout coverage. We saw creativity, wise pivots, and some impressive deadline writing. For Tomorrow Before class, send me your written pitch for your tick-tock. Remember: Make it doable. Make it newsy if possible. Pre-reportPrepare to pitch in class. Same setup as last time: 45 seconds. Hook us.Bring a print-out of … Continue reading This Week

Good luck to all on your reporting and writing this week. Here's what's upcoming: For Friday Prepare for our discussion, led by the marvelous Clara Mokri. First, before you do anything else, read Jimmy's World here. Marvel at the details, dialogue, and storytelling and then....read this short news story on what happened and this explanation, … Continue reading Friday and Next Week

As you know, Pulitzer winner Thomas Peele will be talking on Monday. A great opportunity to learn from one of the best. Before class, look through his archive and read his bio here Check out the Chauncey Bailey project, described as "a journalism collaboration credited with bringing Bailey's killers to justice." Also, Mike McKnight sent … Continue reading Public Records Prep

Congrats on surviving our first pitch session. You all held up quite well. Don't worry: It will feel more natural the more you do it. I especially appreciated the class feedback. People were respectful, thoughtful, and focused on constructive comments. Here you all are, being thoughtful and respectful at the Chronicle. Moving forward: File your … Continue reading Prep for Friday

Good to see everyone at the Chronicle. That perspective will be valuable going forward. And do take the writers/editors up on their offers. Jill in particular already followed up saying that she'd love to hear from students. And Al's offer is rare - you'll have a direct line to pitching. If/when any of you find … Continue reading Tuesday

Monday morning: Arrive at the offices of the San Francisco Chronicle at 901 Mission Street by 9 AM sharp. We go up at 9:15. If you're late, we can't wait for you. If you tend to be late, make a point to arrive early and hit a nearby coffeeshop. If you can't find me/us, text … Continue reading Chronicle Visit Info

I enjoyed meeting with each of you the last two days. I love the creativity and how you're pushing yourselves. Moving forward, keep working on your three projects: Revise your news story. It's due one week from the date of your edit meeting. So if we spoke today, it's due next Wednesday. Some of you … Continue reading For Friday and Beyond

Good seeing everyone this morning and thanks to Michaela for bringing the healthy (and delicious) snacks. As we go, we'll continue talking about reporting/ethical challenges (and you'll continue to face them). When necessary, think back to what we discussed today: the brown paper bag, your crowdsourced rules, and the SPJ sheet. When in doubt, follow … Continue reading Week Three

Well done on the group feedback and story ideas. A lot of those are viable features you could research, pre-report, and pitch, And all in 14 minutes. Remember that whenever you're stuck for ideas. After your Humans of Berkeley baptism, we're going to start pushing forward. First, reminder on logistics: Friday class is now at … Continue reading For Week Two