In 2017, the Los Angeles Times' Christopher Goffard produced a six-episode podcast and published the accompanying story entitled "Dirty John." It is fantastic storytelling across multi-platforms, but what makes it great are Goffard's reporting and narrative.
More great reads
In JRN501, we discuss lots of works of journalism that we consider to be "great." I may select some of them, you may select some of them. Some are great because of the journalist's unique ability to get sources to open up. Some stand up because of the writer's unique narrative style. And, some we can't pinpoint; we just know we love it.
Here is a list of those stories that are not included among the weekly reading assignments, but are still worth reading. (And, there are a couple of stories that I wrote that, while not "great," are still listed because we discussed specific examples in the reporting, or the construction of the story.)
FALL 2022
* "This whole thing has me F---ed up" by Jeff Pearlman, Sports Illustrated (March 29, 2022)
FALL 2021
* Homegrown and homeless in Oakland by Kevin Fagan, Sarah Ravani, Lauren Hepler and J.K. Dineen, San Francisco Chronicle (Nov. 3, 2021)
* His name was Emmett Till by Wright Thompson, The Atlantic (September 2021)
* The power of Layshia Clarendon by Katie Barnes, ESPN (June 24, 2021)
* The fire that forged Giannis Antetokounmpo by Mirin Fader, The Ringer (July 21, 2021)
FALL 2019
* A Most American Terrorist: The Making of Dylann Roof by Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah, GQ (Aug. 21, 2017)
* Guantanamo's Darkest Secret by Ben Taub/The New Yorker (April 15, 2019)
* The Education of Alex Rodriguez by J.R. Moehringer/ESPN The Magazine (February 2015)
FALL 2018
* The Boy Who Heard Too Much by David Kushner, Rolling Stone (Aug. 25, 2009)
* What happened when Walmart left by Ed Pilkington, The Guardian (July 9, 2017)
* Music's Fentanyl Crisis: Inside the Drug That Killed Prince and Tom Petty by David Browne, Rolling Stone (June 20, 2018)
* The Malice at the Palace, an Oral History by Jonathan Abrams, Grantland (March 20, 2012)
* We Saw Nuns Kill Children: The Ghosts of St. Joseph’s Catholic Orphanage by Christine Kenneally, BuzzFeed (Aug. 17, 2018)
* The Homecoming: How Ahed Tamimi Became the Symbol of Palestinian Resistance to Israeli Oppression by Alice Speri, The Intercept (July 31, 2018)
* Huskies cornerback Byron Davenport finally breaks free by Molly Yanity, Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Aug. 13, 2007)
* The Lonely Death of George Bell by N.R. Kleinfeld (Oct. 17, 2015)
The following three stories are different sorts of vignettes.
* The faces of B.C.'s fentanyl crisis by CBC News (December 2017)
* Humans of New York
* What It's Like: Our new health series captures your extraordinary health experiences by Wency Leung, The Globe and Mail (Sept. 4, 2015)
The next story was the Washington Post story that had its Pulitzer Prize retracted in 1981. Remember, it is fiction. (The second story is written by the Post's ombudsman to attempt to explain what he called a "journalism felony.")
* Jimmy's World by Janet Cooke, Washington Post (Sept. 28, 1980)
* The story behind the story by Bill Green, Washington Post (April 19, 1981)
Here is a list of those stories that are not included among the weekly reading assignments, but are still worth reading. (And, there are a couple of stories that I wrote that, while not "great," are still listed because we discussed specific examples in the reporting, or the construction of the story.)
FALL 2022
* "This whole thing has me F---ed up" by Jeff Pearlman, Sports Illustrated (March 29, 2022)
FALL 2021
* Homegrown and homeless in Oakland by Kevin Fagan, Sarah Ravani, Lauren Hepler and J.K. Dineen, San Francisco Chronicle (Nov. 3, 2021)
* His name was Emmett Till by Wright Thompson, The Atlantic (September 2021)
* The power of Layshia Clarendon by Katie Barnes, ESPN (June 24, 2021)
* The fire that forged Giannis Antetokounmpo by Mirin Fader, The Ringer (July 21, 2021)
FALL 2019
* A Most American Terrorist: The Making of Dylann Roof by Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah, GQ (Aug. 21, 2017)
* Guantanamo's Darkest Secret by Ben Taub/The New Yorker (April 15, 2019)
* The Education of Alex Rodriguez by J.R. Moehringer/ESPN The Magazine (February 2015)
FALL 2018
* The Boy Who Heard Too Much by David Kushner, Rolling Stone (Aug. 25, 2009)
* What happened when Walmart left by Ed Pilkington, The Guardian (July 9, 2017)
* Music's Fentanyl Crisis: Inside the Drug That Killed Prince and Tom Petty by David Browne, Rolling Stone (June 20, 2018)
* The Malice at the Palace, an Oral History by Jonathan Abrams, Grantland (March 20, 2012)
* We Saw Nuns Kill Children: The Ghosts of St. Joseph’s Catholic Orphanage by Christine Kenneally, BuzzFeed (Aug. 17, 2018)
* The Homecoming: How Ahed Tamimi Became the Symbol of Palestinian Resistance to Israeli Oppression by Alice Speri, The Intercept (July 31, 2018)
* Huskies cornerback Byron Davenport finally breaks free by Molly Yanity, Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Aug. 13, 2007)
* The Lonely Death of George Bell by N.R. Kleinfeld (Oct. 17, 2015)
The following three stories are different sorts of vignettes.
* The faces of B.C.'s fentanyl crisis by CBC News (December 2017)
* Humans of New York
* What It's Like: Our new health series captures your extraordinary health experiences by Wency Leung, The Globe and Mail (Sept. 4, 2015)
The next story was the Washington Post story that had its Pulitzer Prize retracted in 1981. Remember, it is fiction. (The second story is written by the Post's ombudsman to attempt to explain what he called a "journalism felony.")
* Jimmy's World by Janet Cooke, Washington Post (Sept. 28, 1980)
* The story behind the story by Bill Green, Washington Post (April 19, 1981)