Author Archive

Articles by Maura R. O'Connor | Email the Author

 

1. Behind the News

   Two Years Later, Haitian Earthquake Death Toll in Dispute

   January 12, 2012 01:04 PM

   Fifteen miles north of the National Palace in Port au Prince, along Haiti’s azure coastline, is a place called Titanyen. From Kreyol, this name translates to something like “less than nothing.” Titanyen feels practically barren, mostly dusty hills with some... Continue reading

2. The News Frontier

   COIN Stars

   May 5, 2011 12:59 PM

   When Erik Smith accepted a one-year posting to Afghanistan as a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) official working with one of the U.S. military’s Provincial Reconstruction Teams, he received thirty minutes of Pashto language instruction and cursory training... Continue reading

3. Behind the News

   Haiti Coverage and “Disaster Porn”

   November 19, 2010 11:22 AM

   Last month I was reporting a story on the opening of a mango warehouse in Haiti’s countryside when a fellow reporter got a phone call from his editor: forget about mangoes and get to Saint Marc, where an unknown disease... Continue reading

4. Behind the News

   Yellow Card for South African Media

   July 2, 2010 09:55 AM

   In terms of its emotional, psychological, and spiritual impact on South Africans, the World Cup has been repeatedly compared in recent weeks to 1990, when Nelson Mandela was released from Robben Island after twenty-seven years of imprisonment, ushering in the... Continue reading

5. Behind the News

   “And Then They Came for Me”

   January 22, 2009 11:21 AM

   In Sri Lanka, violence is so endemic that it begins to feel routine. Since I arrived here four months ago to work as a reporter for a local newspaper, there have been at least half a dozen bombings, an aerial... Continue reading

6. Guide to Online News Startups

   Eye on Annapolis

   May 7, 2012 01:46 PM

   ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND — Eye on Annapolis, a website covering Maryland's Chesapeake Bay and capital city of Annapolis, has forged a pragmatic model for... Continue reading

7. Guide to Online News Startups

   The Local East Village

   April 20, 2012 06:22 PM

   NEW YORK, NEW YORK — In 2009, The New York Times made drastic changes in its approach to local news. The year saw the <a href=http://www.observer.com/2009/04/city-goes-dark-writers-reflect-on-the-closing-of-a-itimesi-section/... Continue reading

8. Guide to Online News Startups

   National Institute on Money in State Politics

   April 3, 2012 02:28 PM

   HELENA, MONTANA — Edwin Bender believes that building a database is like writing a really good story. "What fascinated me about being a journalist was... Continue reading

9. Guide to Online News Startups

   Homicide Watch

   March 5, 2012 11:56 AM

   WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA — Mico Briscoe. Black. Male. 18. Shot on November 26, 2011. Marcellus J. Darnaby, aka "Boom." Black.... Continue reading

10. Guide to Online News Startups

    South King Media

    February 15, 2012 11:43 AM

    BURIEN, WASHINGTON — In 2007, Scott Schaefer, an Emmy Award-winning comedy writer who worked on shows like Bill Nye the Science Guy and The Arsenio... Continue reading

11. Guide to Online News Startups

    California HealthCare Foundation Center for Health Reporting

    February 7, 2012 12:22 PM

    ALHAMBRA, CALIFORNIA — The California HealthCare Foundation's Center for Health Reporting aims to produce investigative journalism "without an agenda" and publish these stories in various... Continue reading

12. Guide to Online News Startups

    NOWCastSA

    January 27, 2012 11:55 AM

    SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS — This spring, San Antonio residents will vote on a five-year, $596 million bond package intended to upgrade the city's infrastructure. The... Continue reading

13. Guide to Online News Startups

    Connecticut Health Investigative Team

    January 26, 2012 01:55 PM

    NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT — In 2010, award-winning journalist Lisa Chedekel published a story detailing how more than a dozen Connecticut doctors who had been sanctioned... Continue reading

14. Guide to Online News Startups

    GrossePointeToday.com

    January 12, 2012 10:19 AM

    GROSSE POINTE, MICHIGAN — When the 2010 Census was released, it revealed some interesting changes in the metro Detroit community of Grosse Pointe. Whereas in... Continue reading

15. Guide to Online News Startups

    RiverheadLocal

    January 9, 2012 12:15 PM

    RIVERHEAD, NEW YORK — In 2009 Denise Civiletti tried to switch careers, but in the end she came back to journalism. She had taken a... Continue reading

16. Guide to Online News Startups

    Brownstoner

    December 5, 2011 11:54 AM

    BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — In 2004, a number of forces inspired Jonathan Butler to launch popular Brooklyn-based website Brownstoner.com. He was working at... Continue reading

17. Guide to Online News Startups

    Silicon Prairie News

    November 28, 2011 11:08 AM

    OMAHA, NEBRASKA — In the summer of 2008, Jeff Slobotski was working for the sales team of a technology company in New York City but... Continue reading

18. Guide to Online News Startups

    LocallyGrownNews.com

    November 7, 2011 03:26 PM

    ELON, NORTH CAROLINA — Journalist Michelle Ferrier has been involved in creating online communities for over ten years, and was the editor of MytopiaCafe.com, a... Continue reading

19. Guide to Online News Startups

    The Natomas Buzz

    October 31, 2011 02:50 PM

    SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA — In June of 2008, journalist Brandy Tuzon Boyd was scrolling through daily crime reports in Natomas, a community in northwest Sacramento, when... Continue reading

20. Guide to Online News Startups

    Neighborhood Notes

    October 20, 2011 11:41 AM

    PORTLAND, OREGON — For hyperlocal news sites, one problem looms above all others: while demand for hyperlocal news is growing in communities around America, the... Continue reading

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