Third in a series of occasional essays on the current state of local news in the U.S. There was a time when journalism came from the same place as Kurt Vonnegut’s novels or George Carlin’s stand-up comedy. It was a place with extreme distrust for institutions and extreme empathy for…

Second in a series of occasional essays on the current state of local news in the U.S. My news addiction started innocently enough in the third grade. I loved the Bruins even though I could not skate, and I loved the Red Sox even though I was terrified of the…

First in a series of occasional essays on the current state of local news in the U.S. “When a new dictator takes over a country, one of the first things he does is seize or close the newspapers. Apathy isn’t as heavy-handed as a dictator. …

I have two jobs where I spend a lot of time reading other people’s writing: I spend 40+ hours per week as a regional managing editor for Patch media, where I oversee a team of ten journalists who post content on more than 100 local news sites in three states. …

Over the weekend I learned that Ron Gonen, the subject of my 2007 book Blood & Volume: Inside New York’s Israeli Mafia, died in October 2020. He had been diagnosed with glioblastoma, a rare but aggressive form of cancer, and the cancer did not respond to treatment. He was 72. …

Posting this hear because I actually have friends who are not on Facebook who wanted to read it…. I was 31 when my Dad died in 2004. Not too long after that my Mom noted that was about the same age she was when her mother had died and said…

In September I started working as a local editor for Patch.com. As part of that work, I’ve been sort of a de-facto writing coach. …

In September I started working as a local editor for Patch.com. As part of that work, I’ve been sort of a defacto writing coach. …

Two-Minute Writing Drill: Using Census Data I’m posting early this week because this post can easily give you half a dozen story ideas for each town you cover, and it’s details data that was released last week. This is more of a reporting tip than a writing tip, but it’s…