a blog by Jack Limpert, Editor of The Washingtonian for more than 40 years.
From an Inside the Times column by Emmett Lindner headlined “Reporting on an Unpredictable Deal”:
In April, Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest man, set the wheels in motion for a dramatic arc when it was revealed that he had bought a 9.2 percent share of Twitter. Over the next several weeks, Mr. Musk was invited to join Twitter’s board, then reversed course, threatened a hostile takeover of the company and ultimately reached a deal to buy Twitter for roughly $44 billion last week.
From The Poynter Report with Tom Jones:
Here is the lede on a story this week written by Los Angeles Times reporter Alene Tchekmedyian: “A Los Angeles County sheriff’s commander who was critical of efforts to cover up an incident in which a deputy kneeled on a handcuffed inmate’s head has filed legal papers accusing Sheriff Alex Villanueva of obstructing justice and retaliating against those who blew the whistle.”
This was a follow-up to Tchekmedyian’s story from last month: “Fearing bad publicity, LASD covered up case of deputy who knelt on inmate’s head.”
From a story on huffpost.com by Josephine Harvey headlined “Reporter Philip Crowther Deftly Jumps Between 6 Languages in Viral Clip of Ukraine Coverage”:
A talented journalist wowed viewers this week with his coverage of the Ukraine crisis ― in six languages.
Philip Crowther, an international affiliate correspondent for The Associated Press, has been reporting from Kyiv on the developing conflict with Russia. Speaking to assorted news organizations around the world, he detailed new developments in English, Luxembourgish, Spanish, Portuguese, French and German.
He posted a montage of his work Monday, which went viral and accumulated more than 1.8 million views by the end of the day.
From a New York Times Insider column by Andy Newman headlined “Tracing the Troubled Path of a Man Accused of Murder”:
When a big, awful front-page crime happens, a reporter’s job is pretty straightforward: answer the basic questions of who, what, when, how and, if possible, why.
The morning after is when things get trickier.
On Jan. 15, a 40-year-old woman, Michelle Alyssa Go, was pushed to her death in front of a subway train in Times Square, and a mentally ill homeless man was arrested. The story The Times published that night included everything we had learned about the crime.
From a story on fortworthbusiness.com by Marice Richter headlined “A reporter reflects as a crisis hits close to home”:
I was emotionally and physically exhausted. Since Saturday morning, my life had been consumed by the tragic invasion of Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville by an armed gunman, who held four people hostage during a nearly 11-hour standoff.
As a longtime member of CBI, I was horrified when I received a text Saturday morning from a friend and former member of the congregation, asking for help tracking down a phone number for a local FBI official.
From an Inside the Times column by Sarah Bahr headlined “How Reporters Interview Celebrities”:
The movies make it seem so glamorous: An interviewer walks into a restaurant to share salad and conversation with a celebrity for an upcoming profile. The writer leaves two hours later with plans to hang out again and a notebook full of juicy tidbits.
But in reality, it might take 40 emails and weeks of back-and-forth correspondence with half a dozen people, including publicists, managers and representatives, to set up an hourlong interview — whether over lunch or video — with a celebrity. And sometimes, the conversation isn’t quite so relaxed.
