I have subscribed to Axios, the news website, since shortly after its 2016 inception. And after reading Smart Brevity, the new book by the organization’s creators, I am striving to subscribe more to its core point, captured in the book’s subtitle: “The Power of Saying More With Less.” As I have told writer friends: “Great […]
Category Archives: Journalism
As posted today at the Patch New York City and Boston pages, I explain why this Red Sox fan is cheering on Yankee slugger Aaron Judge in his bid to win the Triple Crown. The short version: as noted in my sub-headline, If the classy, humble slugger accomplishes the rare feat, it would give us […]
Eye-catching photos are a writer’s best friend, drawing the reader into the story while fleshing out an element or two contained in the piece. Case in point: my November 2004 story on Larry Dominick when he was an early-bird candidate for town president of Cicero, Illinois, on Chicago’s western border. My most frequent photographic partner […]
RIP, Vin Scully. Six years ago, when the legendary broadcaster retired after an unparalleled 67-year run as the Los Angeles Dodgers radio voice, I wrote an essay paying tribute to his extraordinary career. At the time, I zoomed in on Scully’s remarkable restraint, and succinct eloquence, during Kirk Gibson’s walk-off home run for the Los […]
My first baseball story of 2022 appeared a few weeks ago in the Daily Herald, on the occasion of Miguel Cabrera’s 3,000th career hit. But its genesis can be traced to 2017. That is when statistical curiosity—one of my incurable traits—prompted me to embark me on a research path that encompasses other baseball greats of […]
Nearly 20 years ago, I delivered a luncheon keynote at the Texas Press Association’s annual conference. The session flowed out of my mathematical literacy (numeracy) training called “Go Figure: Making Numbers Count.” This expertise at the intersection of data and story-telling–that realm where many journalists dread to tread–has taken me throughout the country to lead […]
Atop the front page of today’s Daily Herald is my story on a grateful–and giving–Elmhurst man, Butch Navarro. He was spared by a tornado that ripped through a small Tennessee community a week ago. In response, he is spearheading fundraising efforts for people there. As of late Friday afternoon, that gesture had spurred on more […]
As posted at Patch.com this evening…. About 200 people—students, parents, and other community members—rallied Saturday afternoon in front of Oak Park and River Forest High School to protest the cancellation of extracurricular activities for the next month. The cancellation was prompted by a recent increase in students testing positive for the coronavirus and came at […]
If you’d told me a month ago that I’d be covering a couple of the White Sox-Red Sox games at Guaranteed Rate Field, I’d have responded, “Yeah…and Leury Garcia will command one of the headlines with a walk-off home run.” Yet, there it is (below), my September 13th story in the Daily Herald on the […]
One of the perks of being a story-teller is the continual education that it provides. Over the past year, that has included writing for publications for trade associations such as the American Resort Development Association (ARDA) and the Independent Lubricant Manufacturers Association (ILMA). Recent case in point: writing for the June issue of Compoundings, ILMA’s magazine. […]