Welcome back for another installment of Ask TON. (Wondering what Ask TON is? See here for background information and our introductory post. Click on “Ask TON” above to see previous installments.) Today’s question: A recent NASW post quotes a Slate editor as saying, “We hate quotations at Slate. We almost never use quotes. They don’t do anything. [...]
Welcome back for another installment of Ask TON. (Wondering what Ask TON is? See here for background information and our introductory post. Click on “Ask TON” above to see previous installments.) Today’s question: I’d like to do more international travel as part of my work. I don’t really know how to begin finding stories in [...]
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Tags: Ask TON, Borrell, Field Reporting, Finding Ideas, Fox, Graber, International, Pitches, Rosner, Sohn, Stone 
1 Comment »Welcome back for another installment of Ask TON. (Wondering what Ask TON is? See here for background information and our introductory post. Click on “Ask TON” above to see previous installments.) Today’s question: I’m never sure if it’s OK to “just say no” to an editor’s edits. Do you view the edits more as decisions that have been [...]
Welcome back for another installment of Ask TON. (Wondering what Ask TON is? See here for background information and our introductory post. Click on “Ask TON” above to see previous installments.) Today’s question: I’m a freelancer, and I want to move from doing straight news stories to features, but I don’t really know how to start [...]
Posted in Ask TON Tags: Ask TON, Features, Finding Ideas, Frederick, Greene, Maher, Pitching, Story Development 2 Comments »Welcome back for another installment of Ask TON. (Wondering what Ask TON is? See here for background information and our introductory post. Click on “Ask TON” above to see previous installments.) Today’s question: Should anonymous (unattributed) quotes be used to develop stories which would not be possible without them — such as when individuals are unwilling [...]
Posted in Ask TON Tags: Anonymity, Ask TON, Ethics, Interviewing, Peplow, Travis, Witze No Comments »Today’s installment of Ask TON kicks off a series of posts, each of which in its own way addresses ethical issues that can arise when writers shadow scientists long enough to cross the line from journalist to buddy. To get things started, here’s today’s Ask TON: I will be embedded with a scientist whom I [...]
Posted in Ask TON Tags: Ask TON, Ethics, Field Reporting, Harmon, Henig, Nijhuis, Rogers, Vastag 3 Comments »Welcome to day four of our first-birthday palooza. Today, we greet you with another episode of Ask TON. (If you need to catch up on earlier episodes, see here, here, and here.) Here’s the question for today: What questions do you ask yourself about a story that you’re considering pursuing? How do you decide whether it’s a good idea? [...]
Our first-birthday binge continues today, with a third episode of Ask TON. (What is this all about? See here and here.) Today’s question: I’ve heard people say it’s important not to be afraid to ask “dumb” questions. What is your favorite “dumb” interview question when interviewing scientists? What has gotten you the most useful results? [...]
We’re continuing our birthday celebration today with a second installment of Ask TON. (Are you wondering what the heck we’re talking about? Check here for background and check here for our introductory installment of Ask TON.) Today’s question: I will be attending a scientific meeting in a few months. About 6000 scientists will be there. I’d [...]
TON is one! A year ago today, The Open Notebook published our first stories, launching an ongoing series of “story behind the story” interviews with some of the science journalists whose work we admire. Our idea then, as now, was that despite the changing marketplace for science journalism, craftsmanship still matters. With that in mind, [...]
Calling all science writers! The Open Notebook will soon be launching a recurring feature called “Ask TON.” Even the most experienced journalists have questions about craft: How can I find the best structure for this story? Am I getting too close to the source I’m profiling? How should I word my FOIA request? How much [...]