The War Horse team held weeklong workshops that brought together members of military communities, including veterans, active duty service members, and family members. As editorial director, I worked with participants to find and craft stories during the workshops and then later refine them for publication on The War Horse. I acted as a "story doctor" and aimed to cement lessons attendees were learning, while supporting them as they discovered that raw and honest stories are often the most compelling.

While a research fellow for the Tow Center for Digital Journalism, I organized, produced, and emceed a conference on the future of longform journalism at Columbia's Graduate School of Journalism. The aim of the conference was to engage traditional journalists and people working on the cutting edge of journalism innovation in conversation about how to maintain a fidelity to high quality journalism while experimenting with new models for soliciting, editing, publishing, disseminating longform content in the digital ecosystem.

As digital journalist with The Truth About Trees project, I also used a collaborative approach to storytelling. In some places we held formal workshops, where I collaborated with a producer, writing coach, and local organizers to elicit, shape, and record video stories from a group of community foresters and lovers of trees.

In other locations, I recorded storytellers in the field, drawing on a documentary tradition that places high value on the storyteller’s voice and authority--on authenticity, spontaneity, and a sense of place.

Top Photo: War Horse Fellows listen to lectures.
Bottom Photo: Setting up to interview botanist Tara Luna in the Blackfeet Reservation for The Truth About Trees project. Photo courtesy of Wendy Pollock