Mark Obbie's Blog, page 23

July 8, 2014

Court reporting with the eyes

One of my blind spots as a journalist is that I struggle to describe the physical appearance of people. It’s essential in narrative writing, and I always remember to think about it as I meet with people. I jot notes about the person sitting across from me so that when I transcribe the interview, I […]
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Published on July 08, 2014 02:24

July 7, 2014

On the nightstand: Monday, 7/7/14

Today’s good reads in criminal-justice journalism, with an emphasis on longform narrative stories on crime and original reporting on crime victims and reforms in sentencing and prisons: Dina Kraft visits a Massachusetts prison where crime victims meet with prisoners to show them what their crimes do to harm victims. The story on restorative-justice dialog explains why […]
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Published on July 07, 2014 14:24

GQ, I can’t quit you

I’m no prude, but the cover of the July GQ embarrasses me. As a man of a certain age, I can’t leave this lying around the house or carry it on vacation without wondering what the women in my life (including a daughter who’s older than most of the celebrity-models GQ undresses for its covers […]
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Published on July 07, 2014 03:39

July 5, 2014

On the nightstand: Saturday, 7/5/14

Today’s good reads and reporting coups in criminal-justice journalism, with an emphasis on stories central to my interests in victims and reforms in sentencing and prisons: David Simon, who created shows like The Wire and Homicide after covering the police beat for the Baltimore Sun, says he cares more about his reputation as a working journalist than […]
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Published on July 05, 2014 15:11

The last rape taboo

After Richard Morgan was raped, he chose not to report the crime to police. Instead, he wrote about it in the Washington Post, making a most remarkable victim-impact statement. He explains both decisions; first, on why he did not turn the horrific experience he described in graphic detail into a court case: I don’t want […]
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Published on July 05, 2014 04:04

July 3, 2014

Victim M.M.: the one who stood up

LA Weekly‘s Hayley Fox wrote a cover story on federal law enforcement’s attack on a gang, Armenian Power, that can be read on two levels. It’s a classic description of ethnic organized crime, its methods, successes, and downfall. But it also provides insight into crime victimhood. Fox traces the roots of a crackdown that led […]
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Published on July 03, 2014 06:10

July 2, 2014

On the nightstand: Wednesday, 7/2/14

Today’s good reads and reporting coups in criminal-justice journalism, with an emphasis on stories central to my interests in victims and reforms in sentencing and prisons: Tim Johnson tells the horrifying story of a Salvadoran family caught up in gang violence. He starts his story by offering it as an anecdote about why refugees flood […]
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Published on July 02, 2014 13:24

Storytelling therapy

In my work as a volunteer literacy tutor with teenaged jail inmates and probationers, I met a young woman a few weeks ago who was having, to put it mildly, a bad day. During her running battle with the probation officers who run a program with daily counseling and education sessions for young probationers, the […]
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Published on July 02, 2014 06:12

July 1, 2014

On the nightstand: Tuesday, 7/1/14

Today’s good reads and reporting coups in criminal-justice journalism, with an emphasis on stories central to my interests in victims and reforms in sentencing and prisons: Josh Voorhees examines how national crime statistics ignore much of the crime that occurs in our vast prison system. It’s as if we walled off our fourth-largest city of […]
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Published on July 01, 2014 14:06

An old-fashioned crime serial

Here’s one to counter elitist views of where ambitious longform journalism can come from. The Portland (Maine) Press Herald is now four installments along in a daily serial, set to run for 29 days, titled “Unsettled: Triumph and Tragedy in Maine’s Indian Country.” The series is the result of a year-long reporting and writing project by […]
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Published on July 01, 2014 12:47