Contemporary documentaries about journalists lend a loud voice to quiet atrocities and challenge the immovability of institutional mountains.   They demonstrate the eternal importance of local coverage, chronicle society’s evolution over time and highlight international inspirations to enact change.   They rage against assaults on the right to a free press, strive for broader representation, explore the challenges of investigative journalism in an increasingly digital and disassociated age and showcase the indispensable influence of minority voices in popular culture.  ..read more

(photo by Mykal McEldowney/IndyStar) Marisa Kwiatkowski’s 20-year journalism career included being part of The Indianapolis Star team that helped uncover the USA Gymnastics abuse scandal which led to team doctor Larry Nasser’s arrest. That reporting also led to the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017 ..read more

Ever since its 1920 debut, Writer’s Digest magazine has published numberless articles about how to compose a polished query letter. During most of that time, the standard advice was to create a pitch so compelling that it hooked the reader within the first sentence or two.  ..read more

Story embargoes have been around for a long time. So long that many journalists view their use as just as normal a practice as seeking comment from someone accused of wrongdoing.  What’s the upside of holding back on reporting?   An often-cited benefit of these restrictions is that an embargo allows more time for journalists to prepare before news officially breaks ..read more

In 1979, at the age of 28, long-form journalist, book author and University of Iowa School of Journalism and Mass Communication professor Stephen G. Bloom flew one way to Sao Paulo, Brazil for a job at the Brazil Herald, an English-language paper sitting in the midst of a vast, Portuguese-speaking nation ..read more

My first experience with the Society of Professional Journalists was as a college student. My hometown chapter, SPJ Florida, offered exciting programming that kept me engaged and ready to learn more. I learned how to write obituaries at a contest-style event hosted at a funeral home and taught by the Miami Herald’s legacy obituary writer, Elinor J ..read more

Quill – Winter 2024 ..read more

More paid time off, stronger freelance contracts, and/or a book deal at the top of your wish list this holiday season? Sorry, we can’t help you with that. But what we can do, as we have traditionally done in the winter issue of Quill, is offer some material suggestions that journalists would likely like to give or receive ..read more

The latest group of additions to Quill’s ranked reviews of journalism movies includes a you-are-there account of the efforts of the ABC Sports team to pivot to coverage of the 1972 Olympic hostage crisis, a comic romp with Larry, Moe, Curley Joe and a future Batman, plus much more ..read more

It’s been two years since Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover and November’s presidential election seems to have brought with it a critical mass of news organizations fleeing the rebranded X or significantly downgrading their presence. But for individual journalists who may have spent more than a decade building a dedicated following there, the question of leaving (and deciding where to go next) is much thornier ..read more