Monthly Archives: May 2014

Everyone has a purpose

My wife’s grandma, Vera Lamb, died recently at the venerable age of 89. The funeral, held last week on a rainy morning in rural Minnesota, celebrated the life of a woman who had raised nine children, lost an infant daughter, … Continue reading

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The stream and the banks

Historian and philosopher Will Durant liked to see the big picture. The history of the whole world, for instance. Between the 1930s and the 1970s, he and his wife, Ariel, wrote an 11-volume opus called “The Story of Civilization.” They … Continue reading

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Life and death stories are the best

I talked to a statistic today. He’s doing well, all things considered. My numeric friend has an office two doors down from mine. A few days ago, he survived a heart attack caused by full blockage of his “widow-maker,” the left anterior descending coronary … Continue reading

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Story criteria: Urgency of need

Before 24-hour cable news networks that label anything from a terrorist bombing to a celebrity divorce as “Breaking News,” news editors relied on The Associated Press. A big story would crossed the wire with the label, “URGENT.” Meaning: Pay attention … Continue reading

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Blessed assurance

Editor’s note: This guest post is by our friend Jennie Anderson, who recently attended the Evangelical Press Association convention in Anaheim, Calif. What did I learn at the convention? To be completely honest, what I learned was not gleaned from … Continue reading

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The iPad and Professional Journalists

The iPad for Professional Journalists If you’re an iPad user, or thinking about getting one for journalistic work, here’s a useful blog post from iPad Appstorm.

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Story criteria: Is it unique?

Next on our list of criteria when choosing stories to pursue for Crossfield News: The story must be unique and distinctive. That means it’s either gone unreported or underreported elsewhere. We have little interest in attending press conferences, or in … Continue reading

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Cultivating great story sources

Yesterday Jim talked about two really important story questions: “Is it interesting?” and “Is it important?” If you don’t have those two going for you, find a different angle. Or story. But where to find good examples? The ocean of … Continue reading

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Elements of a good story

We’ve gained a few new audience members lately, so this might be a good time to run through some basics of how we do what we do at Crossfield News, and how anyone can better identify stories worth telling. Our mission: … Continue reading

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These books go on the top shelf

During lunch conversation Tuesday at the Evangelical Press Association convention, I was asked, “Other than your own book, what are your favorite books on writing?” Here’s what came to mind, in no particular order. They aren’t all about writing. Some … Continue reading

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