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December 2006 - Posts

Sunday, December 31, 2006 7:28 PM

Gems of the Year

Trying to pick the best news gems of 2006 hasn't been easy. From the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan to the domestic debates over immigration and education, journalists produced some incredible stories last year. There were compelling narratives,
posted by jonmarshall | 1 Comments
Sunday, December 24, 2006 3:20 PM

Ho Ho Ho

News Gems is taking a break for the holidays and will return right after New Year's Day when we'll feature our list of the "Top 10 Gems of 2006." Until then, I wish all my loyal readers a joyous holiday season and a new year full of great stories.
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Friday, December 22, 2006 8:30 AM

Signs of the Times

For the past week, News Gems has featured stories that shine a spotlight on serious issues: unemployment, air safety, immigration, terrorism and mental illness. Now it's time for a little fun. The Bakersfield Californian Web site has a feature, "Lost
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Thursday, December 21, 2006 8:45 AM

For Hire

What's it like to spend day after day looking for a job? David Finkel of The Washington Post shows us by following 25-year-old Chris Dansby on his quest for employment. Finkel's "The Meaning of Work" is a masterpiece of narrative writing that explores
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Wednesday, December 20, 2006 3:30 PM

Tracks of their Tears

Reporter Christine Evans and photographer Gary Coronado of The Palm Beach Post take us on an incredible journey to Southern Mexico with "Train Jumping." Evans and Coronado detail the terrifying chances Mexican and Central American migrants take,
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Tuesday, December 19, 2006 8:30 AM

Disappearing Act

While looking into the fate of hundreds of former detainees at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Andrew O. Selsky of the Associated Press asked a simple question that should be in every reporter's arsenal: "And then what happened?" U.S. government
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Monday, December 18, 2006 10:30 AM

Uh Oh

James R. Carroll of The Louisville Courier-Journal and Nicole Gaudiano of the Gannett News Service had a story Sunday that won't exactly relax you as we head toward the holiday travel madness, but it just might save some lives. Carroll and Gaudiano's
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Friday, December 15, 2006 8:45 AM

Hurt by Voices

Mental illness is tricky terrain for reporters to cover. The stigmas, misunderstandings and denials make it difficult for reporters to capture an accurate picture of the disease. When the mentally ill subject of a profile is already dead, the obstacles
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Thursday, December 14, 2006 8:30 AM

Year of Living Precariously

Remember ninth grade? I've tried hard to forget that year of hormonal horror, but on Sunday, reporter Ron Matus and photographer Lara Cerri of the St. Petersburg Times brilliantly brought the memories back to life. Their "Ninth or Never" profiles four
posted by jonmarshall | 1 Comments
Wednesday, December 13, 2006 8:30 AM

Home Loss

How can you be kicked out of your home even when you always pay your mortgage on time or even own your house out right? In Sunday's Baltimore Sun, Fred Schulte and June Arney investigate how an archaic system dating from colonial times known as "ground
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Tuesday, December 12, 2006 8:30 AM

The Customer is Usually Right

If you're like me, you've had some spats with insurance companies over how much they owe for medical bills or other claims. Mike Casey of The Kansas City Star had the great idea of checking out just how often customers are right in these disputes. To
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Monday, December 11, 2006 8:30 AM

Murder in Mayberry

Maybe more than any newspaper in the country, The Virginian-Pilot has been taking full advantage of narrative writing techniques. Their reporters gather rich details so they can build stories with strong characters, settings and plots that read with
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Friday, December 08, 2006 12:24 AM

Digging into Danger

Ken Ward Jr. of The Charleston Gazette has been digging deeply this past month into the issue of mine safety. His "Beyond Sago" series looks past the headlines of the Sago mining disaster last January and investigates why so many deaths occur in
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Thursday, December 07, 2006 8:30 AM

Preacher Man with a Plan

Gwendolyn Driscoll of The Orange County Register has been reporting about religion with the kind of depth I've rarely seen. "Purpose-Driven Man," her 20-part Sunday series that has been running since late August, chronicles the mission of Rick Warren,
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Wednesday, December 06, 2006 8:15 AM

The Sunny Side of Iraq

In a slideshow unlike any other I've ever seen, photojournalist Ed Kashi presents thousands of images flipbook-style in "Iraqi Kurdistan." The rapid journey through the photos creates a sense of motion as we see images of Kurdish daily life in relatively
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Tuesday, December 05, 2006 8:30 AM

Lawsuit Land

How much does the Americans with Disabilities Act cost businesses? Quite a lot in California, Marjie Lundstrom and Sam Stanton of The Sacramento Bee report. Stanton's and Lundstrom's "The Price of Access" describes how a cascade of questionable lawsuits
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Monday, December 04, 2006 8:00 AM

Dumpster Diving for News

Reporter Bob Segall of WTHR Channel 13 Eyewitness News in Indianapolis has been searching for the past half year through drugstore dumpsters in Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Louisville, Miami, New Haven, Philadelphia and Phoenix.
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments
Friday, December 01, 2006 7:45 AM

The Great Pumpkin Story

So far this week I've blogged about AIDS, the Iraq war and drug dealers. Now it's time for some sweeter fare, like pumpkins, from the Chicago Reader. If you ate any pumpkin pie this Thanksgiving, there's a good chance the delicious filling came from the
posted by jonmarshall | 0 Comments