The other day, I was listening to an interview podcast on a run, and the guest said something that literally stopped me in my tracks. She was talking about her background, and she paused over her college education. Here’s what she said: “I think I got a pretty nice education at [my university]. It wasn’t […]
One of my favorite things to do every year is talk to the winner of the Sibley Magazine of the Year. This year, I was thrilled to talk to Maria Henson, who is editor of the knockout Wake Forest Magazine, a three-times a year publication for alumni. Henson, a 1982 Wake Forest alum, has been at the […]
We’ve had a busy summer here at Capstone HQ, but we took some time to put together an update with what we’ve been up to. Enjoy! First, here are a few stories the Capstone team has worked on: Here’s a Kent State alum who built a tie business with his young son in mind. What […]
As a former class notes editor, I couldn’t possibly be more excited to share this interview and some incredible resources with you. Here’s the scoop: Many years ago, I served as the class notes editor for an alumni magazine. It was grueling, thankless work. I carefully transcribed cursive notes from alumni who were 3,000 years […]
Are your campus news stories starting to feel a little stale? Does telling one more exactly-the-same story on that new dean, award-winning student, or updated program ranking make you die a little inside? Check out this short video on how to improve your campus news stories with a simple rule of thumb. Let me know […]
One of my all-time favorite podcasts is Longform, which features in-depth interviews with narrative nonfiction writers. Recently, the podcast featured Casey Cep, the author of the white-hot national bestseller about Harper Lee called The Furious Hours. In the interview, Cep mentioned that when she was a college student she got a fellowship that allowed her […]
Here are a few things my team and I have found lately that we think are worth your time. Struggling with a roundup? Roundup stories are a great way to profile a series of alumni or faculty in a similar field, but how do you make that story reader-friendly? Here are a few suggestions. Everyone […]
When you’re mapping out that big feature story, how many sources should you have? Check out the video below to learn the rule of thumb that we use to help every story feel robust and well-reported. Agree? Disagree? Let me know!
Let’s set the scene: you’re planning out the next issue of your magazine, and you have that story to do. And you don’t want to deal with it. That story looks different for everyone. Maybe it’s an annual update of the story you did last year. And the year before that. And the year before […]
What do you do if you have a mediocre cover? Check out this 82-second video to see the before and after images of the most recent Medicine at Michigan cover — including the exact process editor Katie Vloet took to transform the cover from so-so to spectacular. Send me an email to let me know […]