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The Bishop and the Rabbi

No, this post about a bishop and a rabbi isn't an attempt to repeat one of the old jokes my grandpa used to tell. Instead, it highlights two very different profiles that I've enjoyed recently. Andrew Corsello's "Let God Love Gene Robinson" in

America's Toughest Mayor

The July edition of Esquire features an excellent story about the man who may have the toughest political job in America -- improving life in Newark, New Jersey. Scott Raab's "The Battle of Newark, Starring Cory Booker" profiles the city's young

Weaving Themes

When AP's Helen O'Neill wrote "Money Ruling a Remarkable Woman's Legacy," she could have focused on any one of several themes: disabilities, discrimination, public policy, triumph and tragedy. But by choosing to tell a love story, she was able to weave

Olympic Dreams

NPR is running some inspiring stories about athletes who hope to compete in this summer's Olympics. "Olympic Profiles: Bound for Beijing" stories describing the Iraqi sprinter who dodges sniper fire as she trains, a shot-putter

Weaving a Story on the Web

"A Clearwater Girl Is Burned, Not Broken," by John Barry of the St. Petersburg Times, is a fine example of a Web package that combines pictures, text and audio to tell a moving story. When you open the story, your eyes are drawn to a photo of a scarred,

Filling In the Blanks

The National Security Archive, a non-governmental research institute and library located at The George Washington University, collects and publishes declassified documents acquired through the Freedom of Information Act. Peter Carlson of The Washington

Confronting Cancer

"Facing Fatal Genes," by The Oregonian's Julie Sullivan, is a nicely written three-parter about a genetic mutation that greatly increases women's chances of developing breast or ovarian cancer. Part one tells the story of four sisters whose family carries

Pulitzer Praise

I'm thrilled that many of the stories we featured in News Gems last year just won Pulitzer Prizes. The Washington Post, which News Gems lauded in January for having the best stories of 2007, won a remarkable six Pulitzers. These include News Gems

When Daddy Goes to War

In "Bedtime Stories for Catherine," Wright Thompson of ESPN.com offers us a haunting portrait of Matthew Conley, a high school quarterback from Alabama who joined the Marines, went to Iraq and didn't come back alive. Thompson shares Conley's

Painful Policies

Two magazines have done terrific jobs recently of examining torture from the perspective of American soldiers in Iraq. "Exposure: The Woman behind the Camera at Abu Ghraib" by Philip Gourevitch and Errol Morris in the March 24 New Yorker profiles Army

Steve Fossett's Last Adventure

The March issue of Chicago magazine features a brilliant profile by Bryan Smith of pilot Steve Fossett. Smith's "Without a Trace" explores the mystery of how a man who escaped death so many times could disappear during a routine flight

The Boxer

Richard Hoffer of Sports Illustrated proves he is one of the best sportswriters around with an amazing profile of middleweight boxing champion Kelly Pavlik. Hoffer's "Forged to Fight" weaves Pavlik's story with that of his hometown, Youngstown, Ohio,

The Death of a Basketball Player

Wright Thompson of ESPN has written a powerful narrative about a former college basketball star who disappears into the wilds of Brazil. "The Last Days of Tony Harris" follows Harris as he plays his last days for a Brazilian team and runs from
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To the Brink

"Pam's Story," by Mary K. Reinhart of Arizona's East Valley Tribune, is a compelling series about a bipolar mother and son. The first half of the series is disturbing: When the son, Zack, asks his mother, Pam, to join him in a suicide pact, Pam sees it

Best Gems of 2007

When we sat down to create the Top 10 News Gems of 2007, we ended up with an initial list of more than 40 favorite stories. We had a hard time deciding among the many outstanding examples of journalism from magazines, broadcast outlets, Web sites and
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