Analysis for week 1 of Narrative

Across a series of posts I’ve been exploring the habits of successful journalists that are often described as being “innate” or “unteachable”: from curiosity and scepticism, persistence and empathy, to creativity and discipline. In this final post I look at the quality underpinning them all: passion. Are journalists only ever…

In a previous post I wrote about the central role of creativity in journalism training — in this penultimate post in a series on the seven habits of successful journalists, I explore how discipline is equally important in directing that creativity towards a professional end — and how it can…

In the fifth in a series of posts on the seven habits of successful journalists, I explore how creativity can be developed in trainee journalists. You can read the posts on curiosity, scepticism, persistence and empathy here. Describing journalism as a creative profession can cause discomfort for some reporters: we…

In the fourth of a series of post on seven habits often associated with good journalism I look at a quality which is much less talked about, and often misunderstood — and why I believe it should be just as central as qualities such as persistence or curiosity. …

In the third of a series of post on seven habits often associated with good journalism I look at how persistence and tenacity can be taught in journalism training — and why it should be. One of the earliest skills that broadcast journalists learn is how to conduct a vox…

In a previous post I outlined seven habits often associated with good journalism that are often talked about (wrongly) as ‘innate’ or ‘unteachable’. In this second post I look at scepticism: why it’s so important in journalism, and how it can be taught. On its own the first habit of…

This post was first published on the Online Journalism Blog. Are good reporters born — or made? Can you teach the curiosity that all good journalists possess? The persistence of the best reporting? The creativity of the most compelling stories? …

S-Town is a podcast from the makers of This American Life. It’s a great piece of storytelling — so it’s a perfect subject for applying some narrative concepts in order to understand how those can help professional storytellers and media workers to engage their audiences. Mode, audience and genre Let’s start with the basics…

This post was first published in the Online Journalism Blog. A few weeks ago I was invited to talk at an online mini-fest about a ‘big idea’ for the future of online learning. I decided to talk about what I called ergodic education — how concepts from interactivity can be…