The 50th Anniversary of John Williams’ Stoner John Williams’s Stoner — which this month is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a tastefully geometric hardback edition from New York Review Books — is a quiet novel; a portrait painted in sober tones of the life of a somber, unremarkable man, a story that unfolds softly andContinue reading “A Love Letter To Literature”
Category Archives: Journalism
Careful, considerate, thoughtful, thorough
“Single-vehicle crash on I-70 sends four people to hospital” Again, another story where I would have liked to have been more thoughtful. This time I think I simply got caught up turning over the clip. I was less than as careful as I would have liked to have been. I got conflicting facts and simplyContinue reading “Careful, considerate, thoughtful, thorough”
Younger than myself
UPDATED: Three men charged in armed bank robbery This story was both disheartening and fascinating. There is the inherent interest in the story of three men robbing a bank. A high-speed chase. A spike strip. A foot chase. Plus the fact that at the start of the morning we were trying to stay ahead ofContinue reading “Younger than myself”
Grimy patina
There are plenty of arguments to make about threats to journalism. There is Reince Priebus coming out last week and talking about changing libel laws. There is rampant distrust of facts, the liberal media and anything claiming to be bipartisan. There is Donald Trump and his ilk of truth-bucking cronies. And there are journalists themselves, whoContinue reading “Grimy patina”
Echoes
FACT CHECK: Rep. Hartzler misses the trend on insurance premiums Again, I struggled with Hartzler’s team. They’ve always gotten back to me promptly, and been plenty polite. But the information they supply me hardly ever points to the figures they cited or the points they are trying to get at. Which, while I’m working isContinue reading “Echoes”
Day turns
Boone Hospital Center considers five options for future There is an allure to day turns. It’s fun to dive into an issue, explore it for a bit, write it up, AC it, edit and walk away. There’s a level of productivity, of objective results. You feel like you did something. Longer, more unwieldy stories thatContinue reading “Day turns”
‘General community cohesion’
Trump’s proposed budget could put ‘general community cohesion’ at risk This was one of my favorite pieces to report on this semester. Similar to covering the ACA, I think this sort of feature is so valuable to the public: I want to help people understand what high-level governmental policy can mean for them, down onContinue reading “‘General community cohesion’”
Context
FACT CHECK: Roy Blunt leaves out the context of Missouri’s health insurance coverage What I like most about fact checking — aside from working as a watchdog and attempting to hold elected officials accountable for their loose words — is the study of nuance. On the one hand, it can be a little terrifying, thatContinue reading “Context”
Underestimated
FACT CHECK: Rep. Vicky Hartzler underestimated the lack of high-speed internet in Missouri Working on fact checks can feel in some ways very different from my other reporting, though ostensibly the methods and concepts are the same. I guess the main dynamic difference I feel is that when I work the GA shift or myContinue reading “Underestimated”
Curators
MU Health Care revenue up $58M, report to Curators shows As someone still new to journalism, I feel like I’m continually working to understand the dynamics of being in a room as a reporter. What is my authority? What is my obligation? What is appropriate? What is my relationship to these people? Especially these veryContinue reading “Curators”
Gary Joshua Garrison 