Andrew C. Nelson

My ego took a hit. Last year I was in the B corral....

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 12:11:00 -0400

My ego took a hit. Last year I was in the B corral. #peachtreeroadrace

"The old adage is true—writing is rewriting. But it takes a kind of courage to confront your own..."

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 20:53:50 -0400

“The old adage is true—writing is rewriting. But it takes a kind of courage to confront your own awfulness (and you will be awful) and realize that, if you sleep on it, you can come back and bang at the thing some more, and it will be less awful. And then you sleep again, and bang even more, and you have something middling. Then you sleep some more, and bang, and you get something that is actually coherent. Hopefully when you are done you have a piece that reasonably approximates the music in your head. And some day, having done that for years, perhaps you will get something that is even better than the music in your head. Becoming a better writer means becoming a re-writer. But that first phase is so awful that most people don’t want any part.”

- Ta-Nehisi Coates (via theatlantic)
So very true.

At an ordination of Catholic priests. http://t.co/q08vusAZql

Sun, 09 Jun 2013 09:30:29 -0400

At an ordination of Catholic priests. http://t.co/q08vusAZql

A Friday ritual.

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 18:50:19 -0400

A Friday ritual.

The Ultimate Tweet

Sun, 26 May 2013 12:50:00 -0400

iphonereporting:

Typing 140 characters and adding a link or photo is so 2010.

Too many news organizations merely toss web or broadcast content in a tweet.

Here’s an example of content created on mobile for mobile.

Great how-to. I took advantage of this at an ordination at a Catholic church.

I looked for opportunities when photos could tell the story. I shot three photos: of the candidates entering the church, when they prostrate themselves during the service and lastly, as they greeted family, friends and loved ones after the service. Beginning, middle and endI shot with the Camera+ app, editing them on the fly. I wrote out a script and recorded it using the Soundcloud app sitting in my car in the parking garage, uploaded it and put it out on social media.

Here’s my first attempt. Thanks for the tip.

ONA Issues: Three great Tumblrs: Reporthers, Journos of Color, and Flip the News

Fri, 24 May 2013 15:50:30 -0400

ONA Issues: Three great Tumblrs: Reporthers, Journos of Color, and Flip the News:

onaissues:

Here are three great Tumblrs that focus on women and people of color in the media that we started following this week:

Reporthers features Q & As with “editors, producers, reporters and other cool people who have something to do with journalism and nonfiction storytelling.” Founder Jessica…

Good ways to expand one’s horizons. Well done to the creative creators.

Civilization is

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:00:33 -0400

Civilization is a stream with banks. The stream is sometimes filled with blood from people killing, stealing, shouting and doing things historians usually record, while on the banks, unnoticed, people build homes, make love, raise children, sing songs, write poetry.The story of civilization is the story of what happened on the banks.Historians are pessimists because they ignore the banks for the river. — Will Durant

My writing during these past 19 years has been all about the events on the banks of civilization. I am pleased I’ve been able to those stories in newspapers.

Audio Slideshow: L'Arche Atlanta

Wed, 22 May 2013 20:22:00 -0400

Audio Slideshow: L'Arche Atlanta:

I knew from the get go I wanted to produce a multimedia story about Decatur’s L’Arche community. The people and the community they are establishing seemed ripe for an enriching visual and audio story-telling experience, in addition to print.

The scene setting that opened the piece was done by standing in the kitchen as the two residents started to cook dinner. I knew when I heard the pasta snap that could be the opening.

The sound was recorded on my iPhone.

And here’s the story that ran in the newspaper.

Go here to run along the ‘Hooch in #Atlanta. Maybe the...

Sun, 19 May 2013 09:02:53 -0400

Go here to run along the ‘Hooch in #Atlanta. Maybe the only flat trail around here.

My red roses a’bloomin’

Fri, 17 May 2013 19:50:26 -0400

My red roses a’bloomin’

ATL Urbanist: For a brighter rail-transit future, Atlanta needs the streetcar to succeed

Fri, 17 May 2013 18:52:57 -0400

ATL Urbanist: For a brighter rail-transit future, Atlanta needs the streetcar to succeed:

atlurbanist:

One thing became clear about the Atlanta Streetcar route from the moment the project was announced: a lot of people, even among public-transit supporters, don’t like it.

The criticism often boils down to people opposing the very idea of using a streetcar as a tool for developing a blighted…

I was lucky to be in Edinburgh, Scotland, recently where streetcars are part of the revival of Princess Street, across from the castle.

Self-organized pub crawl off the tourist trail

Wed, 15 May 2013 21:25:00 -0400

View Edinburgh in a larger map

UPDATE: A 360 view of the Bow Bar

A recent pub crawl took me off the well worn Royal Mile to a bunch of friendly Edinburgh pubs.

I’d visited the tourist-friendly Edinburgh Castle in the past, so there was no need to spend time there. Just a stone’s throw away, however, were a bunch of fun pubs.

And an unexpected bonus wandering the streets was the unique view of the castle besides the often photographed Princess Street.

Ruins of St. Andrews Cathedral, #Scotland.

Mon, 13 May 2013 21:41:28 -0400

Ruins of St. Andrews Cathedral, #Scotland.

I got my shirt from Atlanta Track Club to train for the 10K...

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 19:05:52 -0400

I got my shirt from Atlanta Track Club to train for the 10K #PeachtreeRoadRace.

Census & American Factfinder

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 22:10:00 -0400

I’m diving in to the Census and the American Community Survey for stories.

I have from the American Community Survey

DP03

SELECTED ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS
2007-2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates

I’d like to see how these characteristics have changed over time.

I’m thinking the 2000 Census may help. I’ll see where that road leads me.

Piedmont Park, Atlanta

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 13:19:16 -0400

Piedmont Park, Atlanta

View from porch. A friend says the South shows off in the...

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 12:22:04 -0400

View from porch.
A friend says the South shows off in the spring. I have come to share that point of view.

Boom. Flash. Storm.

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 22:37:11 -0400

Boom. Flash. Storm.

Being in a room of very smart people ...

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 13:37:00 -0400

Being in a room of very smart people can lead to navel gazing or be a kick in the butt to learn more. I tend to go for the latter.

That’s how I felt at January’s Computional Journalism conference at Georgia Tech. (Here’s a Storify of day one, which I attended.)

Here are three ideas that resonated with me :

.@philmeyer4: Best strategy for market research in journalism is to figure out what audience would want *if they knew about it*. #compj

January 31, 2013

.@motamman: Journalists tend to love the outliers. What happens in the middle doesn’t make for good stories.#compj

January 31, 2013

95% of journalists won’t be paid to be journalists. What skills can we give that 5% that will be paid? -Lemann #compj

January 31, 2013

FDR’s Little White House is an interesting day trip from...

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 04:32:51 -0400

FDR’s Little White House is an interesting day trip from Atlanta for history buffs.