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Journalism Education Committee Chair

Becky Tallent
Assistant Professor
School of Journalism and Mass Media
University of Idaho
E-mail
Bio (click to expand) picture Rebecca J. “Becky” Tallent is an award-winning journalist and public relations specialist with more than 12 years experience as an energy/environmental and financial journalist plus an additional 16 years experience as a public relations specialist and five years as an educator. She is currently an assistant professor of journalism and mass media at the University of Idaho.

Becky’s experience as a reporter and editor inside Oklahoma was with the Daily Oklahoman, the Tulsa World, Oklahoma Business News Co. (where she was reporter and editor of the Oklahoma Energy/Environment Report) and as editor of the Oklahoma Banker. She has also covered energy and environmental issues for McGraw-Hills News, Inc. of New York (Platt’s Oilgram News, Engineering Week and Green Markets); Reuter’s U.S. Financial, Inc. based in New York; and the Washington, D.C.-based Oil Daily.

As a public relations specialist, Becky has represented the University Hospitals, the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority, the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board and Epworth Villa (a not-for profit retirement community). From 2002-2006, she was a public relations specialist with Evergreen Productions, Inc. of Oklahoma City where she represented the City of Lawton (OK), Tidal School Vineyards and the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Her expertise in public relations is writing/publications, working with the news media and crisis communications.

Before Idaho, Becky taught journalism at Bishop McGuinness High School, Southwestern College, the University of Phoenix, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Northwestern Oklahoma State University.

Some of Becky’s most recent awards include: 2003 Faculty Member of the Year, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University; first place, 2001, American Marketer’s Association, Oklahoma City Chapter, Marketing Campaign for Epworth Villa; second place, 2001, Society of Professional Journalists, Oklahoma Chapter, not-for-profit publications (Epworth Villa); first place, 2000, Society of Professional Journalists, not-for-profit publications (The Oklahoma Banker); and the 1999 Award of Merit from the Oklahoma Chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators for the Oklahoma Banker.

Becky has been a member of SPJ since 1972 when she joined the University of Central Oklahoma student chapter. She joined the Oklahoma Professional Chapter in 1977 and became a member of the Snake River Chapter in 2006. She has served on numerous local and national committees for SPJ. Becky’s dedication to the Society lies in her belief that service in SPJ is a way to contribute something back to the profession.

Becky earned both her Bachelor of Arts in Journalism (1975) and her Master of Education in Journalism (1977) from the University of Central Oklahoma. She earned her Doctorate of Education in Classroom Teaching/Mass Communications from Oklahoma State University in 1995.

Home > Journalism Training > Narrative Writing Workshop

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What is Narrative Writing? | Doing It Daily | Ethics & Narrative Writing
Reporting for Narrative | Newsroom Strategies | Resources

Don't just report the story. Tell it like it is.

The Society of Professional Journalists invites reporters and editors to step out of the inverted pyramid and into the art of storytelling! Through SPJ’s Narrative Writing Workshops, participants will learn options for reinvigorating the writing craft.

See for yourself

Enjoy a sampling of the Narrative Writing Workshop that took place in Portland, Ore.

(Special thanks to Jeff Achen for supplying the video.)

Join Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and reporter Tom Hallman, Jr., from 9 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. for a day filled with tips for creating excitement in news stories.

The freestyle conversation with Hallman includes discussion on the following topics:
— Defining narrative writing
— Reporting for narrative
— Long form narrative storytelling
— How you can apply narrative techniques to your daily reporting
— Strategies for your newsroom

Have a special project in the works? Share it! Participants will have the chance to send Hallman a sample of their work in advance of the workshop. Tom will critique the work and discuss it with the rest of the class.


Upcoming Dates and Locations

Dates and locations are announced as events are scheduled. Check back regularly to see if we'll be in a city near you!


Pricing (includes lunch)

Members: $45
Non-Members: $65


Where we’ve been

Click on a point of interest to see when a workshop was held in that area.


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What participants are saying...

“Tom Hallman Jr.’s narrative writing seminar was the most useful I’ve attended in my 40 years working in radio and newspapers. When a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter is willing to spend four hours giving you the nuts and bolts of his technique with concrete examples, it’s well worth it. But the payoff came in using it. The first time I wrote a story using his technique, I got the biggest response of any story I’d ever written, including compliments from total strangers; my editor and publisher; and even reporters on other papers. It’s a sweet feeling.”
— Rodger Nichols, The Dalles Chronicle (Attended December 12, 2009 program in Portland, Oregon)

“I walked away from Tom Hallman Jr.’s Narrative Writing Workshop with a new way of looking at reporting. Journalism school laid the foundation for putting together news stories, but what I learned in the workshop helped me breathe life into those stories. Thinking about things from a narrative perspective has helped me to slow down, absorb the atmosphere when I’m at interviews or events, and look for angles that I probably would never have thought of before. It’s made doing what I love even more interesting and challenging.”
— Casey Farrar, Keene Sentinel


About Tom Hallman, Jr.

Tom Hallman Jr., is considered one of the nation's premier narrative writers. During his career, he has won every major feature-writing award, some for stories that took months to report, others less than a couple of hours. The stories range from the drama of life and death in a neo-natal unit, to the quiet pride of a man graduating from college.

A common thread in all of Hallman's stories is the exploration of the character's heart and soul. Hallman believes that every reporter — no matter how many years they have been in this business — can learn how to spot true stories and report and write them in ways that resonate with readers. The ability to write has less to do with pure talent, and more with the understanding of craft, vision and emotion.

He was born and raised in Portland and graduated from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa in 1977. He's worked at a car wash, a grocery store, a greyhound race track and was a volunteer at a VA hospital. He worked as a bartender for one week.

His first journalism job was in New York City as copy editor for Hearst Magazines Special Publications. He returned to Oregon as a reporter at The Hermiston Herald, a small weekly in Hermiston, Ore, before landing a job at the Tri-City Herald, Kennewick, Wash. In 1980, he moved to The Oregonian in where he covered crime for 10 years. He is now a reporter with the Portland team.

He is a frequent contributor to Readers Digest, and his stories have appeared in Esquire, Best Life and Star magazine. One of his stories was made into a movie. His book, "Sam: The Boy Behind the Mask, was published in 2002." He writes a column on writing for Quill Magazine. Hallman has been a speaker at National Writer's Workshops and at papers across the United States. He has taught at USC, Notre Dame and Brown University.

His awards include:

— Pulitzer Prize — feature writing
— Pulitzer finalist — beat reporting
— Pulitzer finalist — feature writing.
— American Society of Newspaper Editors winner — feature writing
— American Society of Newspaper Editors winner — feature writing
— American Society of Newspaper Editors — finalist
— National Society of Professional Journalists — feature writing
— National Society of Professional Journalists — feature writing.
— National Scripps Howard Journalism Award — Ernie Pyle Human Interest
— Writing.
— National Scripps Howard — Business Reporting.
— National Headliner Award — Outstanding Feature Writing.
— National Headliner Award — Outstanding Feature Writing.
— Nixon National Writing Award
— Penny Missouri, multiple awards.
— Livingston Award for Young Journalists.

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