I help reporters turn ideas into great stories
When Janet Folger Porter moved back to Ohio in December 2010, she invited some of her closest friends to her new home in suburban Cleveland. Her guests sipped coffee, made small talk and shared a breakfast of bacon and eggs. Meanwhile, Porter set up a white board in front of the fireplace. On it, the… Continue reading ‘They’re not gonna quit’: How Ohio anti-abortion activists shaped post-Roe America
More than a century before failing infrastructure left Jackson, Mississippi, without running water this summer, thousands of the capital city's residents gathered in a park downtown to celebrate the new water filtration plant that promised to turn the muddy liquid flowing into people’s taps into “clean, pure water.” People poured in from nearby schools and… Continue reading Jackson water crisis flows from a century of poverty, neglect and racism
Immediately after a Peace Corps employee in Tanzania went on a reckless drunk driving spree in 2019 that left one woman dead and another badly wounded, police in Dar es Salaam initiated an investigation that could have put the U.S. citizen behind bars overseas. But U.S. State Department officials acted fast to thwart their efforts… Continue reading Peace Corps
The mayhem on Jan. 6, 2021, featured a mob storming the U.S. Capitol, attacking police and spilling blood with fists, flag poles and stolen riot shields. Amid the haze of smoke grenades and bear spray were recognizable symbols that have been adopted by far-right extremists: a noose and makeshift gallows; the Confederate stars and bars;… Continue reading Propaganda of the digital age: How memes are weaponized to spread disinformation
Like any campus approaching the end of a school year, Robb Elementary was abuzz with excitement and anticipation. There were field trips, a ceremony to honor the best in class and a “Footloose and Fancy” day for the young students to show off favorite outfits and “fun” shoes. During an effusive video address to the… Continue reading Innocents lost: Uvalde attack leaves broken lives, fractured public trust in law enforcement
Matthew Doig 