Insights

You learn a lot when you spend months reporting on a given issue or community, as our fellows can attest. Whether you’re embarking on a big new story or seeking to go deeper on a given issue, it pays to learn from those who’ve already put in the shoe leather and crunched the data. In these essays and columns, our community of journalists steps back from the notebooks and tape to reflect on key lessons, highlight urgent themes, and offer sage advice on the essential health stories of the day. 

Wall Street Weekend

By Bill Macfadyen

<p>When gangbangers aren't your biggest worry, you've got real problems</p>

A Royal Convergence

By Bill Macfadyen

<p>Catching a glimpse of the future of professional community journalism, I'm excited by what I see</p>

Reporting on Place and Health: Water Woes in California's Central Valley

By Barbara Feder Ostrov

<p>In California’s agricultural Central Valley, clean water is surprisingly hard to come by, and expensive, for some of the region’s poorest residents. It’s not hard to make the connection between poor health and water that has been tainted by nitrates from agricultural runoff.</p>

Media Social

By Bill Macfadyen

<p>10 online news outfits promise to share and share alike — if one doesn't die in the night.</p>

What do you think about Storify?

By Manny Hernandez

<p>What is Storify? Good question! It's a new web product that <a href="http://blog.storify.com/2011/04/storify-launches-public-beta/&quot; target="_blank">announced its public beta</a> this week, meant to help build stories conveniently pulling from social media sources such as Twitter, YouTube, etc.</p><p><a href="http://storify.com/askmanny/the-big-blue-test-a-small-example-of-the-bi…; target="_blank">Below is an example of a story I just created</a> to give you a feel for what's possible. Seems like a very convenient way to aggregate sources from social media. What do you think?</p>