Street Journalist: Understand and Report the News in Your Community

by Lisa Loving

A corrupt politician. A local business in trouble. A neighbor with a heroic story. An opportunity to work together for positive change.Whatever the stories are in your community that most need to be told, the best person to tell them is you. Whether you're writing for your local newspaper, producing a podcast or video series, or simply sharing what you see and learn every day on social media, the power of journalism is in your hands, as is the responsibility to use it ethically and wisely.Longtime journalist Lisa Loving opens up the world of journalism, sharing her hard-won skills and knowledge to help expand your media literacy so that you can report on what matters most, hold powerful people accountable, and strengthen your community.

Genres: Nonfiction, Journalism

191 pages, Paperback

Published May 10, 2019

Reviews

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really solid intro to journalism for those who want to make a difference but don't have fancy degrees or formal training. I thought the exercises and thought starters at the end of the chapters were really helpful, even as someone with some experience in the field. And some of the concepts that Lisa Loving brings up, like the now/then/now and martini glass structures of story writing, Craig Silverman's self-editing checklists, Kitty Litter Theory of news organization, and cognitive bias codex, are things I had never heard of! I dog-eared lots of pages to go back to.

I also appreciated when the author brought in some of her own experiences doing investigative work and highlighted activist work in Portland and elsewhere. Loving brings an asset-based approach to journalism and emphasizes relationship building and harm reduction -- necessary concepts that many establishment media outlets don't subscribe to (but should!).

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

An unfortunately much more elementary exploration of journalism than I would have hoped for, and with what seems to be very little real consideration of the street part of street journalism. The prose is strong just not quite my style, I’ll give it a reread to take some notes but overall not my favourite of the year.

[John Pacheco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend it for historians surviving in a dying trade.

[Deborah Sowery-Quinn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Useful information re journalism tips & precautions