Dr. Spaulding

Don’t just interview the guy who sees the sign. Find the guy who sits on top of it.

One thing Steve Luxenberg always kept in his pocket while he was a reporter at The Baltimore Sun: his story list. What if an editor walked up to him and barked, “what are you working on?” What would he say if he were put on the spot like that? Later, when he became an editor, [...]

Joe Challmes used this as an example in class this spring. What’s the U.N. society, and why is it located on Eaton Street? Here’s one I haven’t gotten to yet. Stroll through the Canton Waterfront Park and you’ll see this steel thing. What is it, and why is it here? I see Eli tags everywhere. [...]

“A story is an idea that pans out.” That’s what my friend Joe Challmes says. Challmes, a former Baltimore Sun reporter, sat next to a student at lunch last Friday who asked him, “how do I know what a story is?” It’s a good question, a basic one most students never think to ask. Joe [...]