Reporting And Writing

Since I became a reporter 27 years ago, I've learned from hundreds of reporters, editors, writers, coaches and teachers, yet I continue to seek ways to improve every day. Reporting and Writing: Basics for the 21st Century is a record of my education and a practical guide to the skills, knowledge and attitudes of the professional journalist of today and tomorrow. I hope readers, whether starting or continuing their own quest, will find it a useful and inspiring companion on the lifelong journey of discovery that every good journalist takes.

Christopher "Chip" Scanlan leads the reporting, writing and editing program at The Poynter Institute and is director of the National Writers’ Workshops.

He is co-editor, with Roy Peter Clark, of America’s Best Newspaper Writing: A Collection of ASNE Prizewinners. He edited the Best Newspaper Writing series from 1994-2000. Before joining Poynter, he was a national correspondent for Knight Ridder Newspapers’ Washington Bureau, feature writer for the St. Petersburg Times and reporter for the Providence Journal. He started out at small newspapers in his native Connecticut. His articles, essays and short stories have appeared Redbook, The Washington Post Magazine, Telling Stories, Taking Risks: Journalism Writing at the Century’s Edge, River Teeth, The Writer, Mississippi Review, The Boston Globe Magazine and Salon.com.