Marcy Burstiner

This was how the Times-Standard began a story about the Jewish New Year known as Rosh Hashanah: “The blast of the ram’s horn marks the end to the summer season. Jewish people around the world are roused by the piercing sound of this ancient instrument known as the shofar. The sound of the shofar announces […]

Open any sports page in just about any newspaper and you get a great rundown on what’s happening with teams from around the state and nation. But that’s not the case for news. The local papers here tend to give you a smattering of somewhat relevant local news, one or two of the biggest national […]

I reported any number of ridiculous stories over the course of my career — all brilliant conceptions of bone-headed editors. There was the one on how corporate executives fit physical fitness into their busy work schedules, summer stories about desert heat, a feature about elevators in the TransAmerica Pyramid, interviews with mall shoppers about the […]

If there is anything that sets the Eureka Reporter and Times-Standard apart from each other it’s how each covers crime in Humboldt County. Crime coverage is considered bread and butter to most newspapers as it’s the one thing that tends to interest all readers, regardless of what neighborhood they live in or their age, gender, […]

If you want to read some of the most interesting and relevant journalism in Humboldt County you’ll have only till the end of the month. That’s because this year it’s been coming out of our local high schools and when the school year ends, so do the publications; many of the reporters and editors will […]

A small item in the April 21 issue of the Reporter began this way: The unsanctioned celebration of the illegal drug marijuana on Friday commonly referred to as “420” didn’t go unnoticed by the Arcata Police Department. Forget the problem of the double negative. I ripped this 127-word brief out of the paper because it […]

In the cardinal rules of journalism, balance ranks high. But it is a difficult thing for a reporter to achieve. Often that’s because in trying to get two sides to a story – or better yet, all sides to a story – a reporter risks giving too much weight to representatives of one side, given […]

The problem with a daily newspaper format is the reporters feel compelled to report news daily, and readers get the impression that they need a daily news feed. In a rural area, where for 50 years people from Cloverdale to Trinidad have talked about the anticipated start of the Willits Bypass, how important is it […]

You know that the fight between the Times-Standard and Eureka Reporter is getting down and dirty when the Reporter follows the T-S‘s multi-part series on homelessness with a three-part series on dioxin in the bay. Like the homeless series, this is a subject that deserves serious discussion. If there is one thing that connects us […]

Mention the words "focus group" to most reporters and they’ll groan. That’s because for years, the focus groups whose opinions publishers sought wanted articles short and sweet; happy stories about dogs and babies that would fit easily on one page. That was before the Internet siphoned off readers with more timely and customized news. Fearing […]