Recent Poynter Online Stories about Student Journalists, Online Startups and More

I’ve gotten to write some fun stories lately about innovative college students, online news startups and news consumers donating to good causes they hear about in the news.
Here’s some of my most recent Poynter Online work:
“Texas Tribune’s Launch ‘Just the Beginning’ of Databases, What’s to Come,” Nov. 4
“CoPress Pushes Innovation, Shows Value of Open-Source Platforms,” [...]

Bought a New Bike, Ready to Ride in St. Petersburg

For years I’ve said I wanted to get a bike. I always had one growing up, but when I moved to Florida, I had to leave my good ol’ Schwinn mountain bike behind. Now I have a new one, which I bought this week for $50.
Growing up, I rode my pink and purple Huffy everywhere. [...]

Remembering What We’ve Lost, Holding on to What We Still Have

Loss has always played a significant role in my life — especially the fear of it. As a child, my mom used to scream at me whenever I lost something.
“Maaaaaallllarrrry!” she would say, her brow furrowed, her head titled.
Uh. Oh.
I grew to fear what would happen if I told her I had lost a mitten [...]

Why Twitter Matters to Journalism

A University of Tampa student recently asked for my input regarding the use of Twitter in the journalism world. She reached out to me for comment, though I don’t think she was able to include my input given her deadline. (I submitted my responses somewhat late.) So, for what it’s worth, I’m posting her questions [...]

Looking for Ways to Recognize the 75th Anniversary of Providence College’s Student Newspaper, The Cowl

Wednesday nights used to be “put the paper to bed and forget about sleep” nights.  As editor-in-chief of Providence College’s student newspaper, The Cowl, I’d often stay up until 4 a.m. or 5  a.m. editing final versions of stories, re-reading headlines and making sure the paper didn’t contain any glaring errors. Perfectionism often kept me [...]

Journalists Use Kickstarter to Fund Personal Projects

My latest Poynter Online story is about journalists who are using a site called Kickstarter to raise thousands of dollars for personal projects. The journalists I interviewed are pursuing projects that involve filming a documentary, writing a book and traveling to Tanzania to study Kihansi spray toads:
“As journalists face pay cuts and are asked to [...]

Learning How Editing Can Make You a Better Writer

I’ve been getting to write more stories for work, which has been great in terms of developing my reporting and writing skills. I’ve found that line and copy editing stories for Poynter Online throughout the past year has made me a better writer.
It’s taught me to write tighter sentences, triple-check my facts and cut out [...]

Quotes about Being a Fool and Not Fearing Change

We’ve all heard or read them — those quotes that speak to us and make us realize that for as confused about life as we sometimes get, there’s someone else out there who understands. I recently read two Erica Jong quotes from the book, “The Writer and Her Work” that resonated with me, so much [...]

Thanks, Readers, for Your Comments

Whenever I get an e-mail saying I have a new comment on my blog, I get the same feeling of enthusiasm I used to get when I would hear the mail truck stop in front of my house as a little girl. I’d dash out the front door and flip through the envelopes, hoping there [...]

How Do You Motivate Yourself to Write Personal Essays?

I have a lot of ideas for personal essays that I’ve been wanting to write about lately, but a busy work and social life have led to weeks of procrastination. When I do have free time, distractions get in the way, and I’m left thinking, “Tomorrow. I’ll write tomorrow.”
I have no problem churning out stories [...]