From the Publisher: Word Wise 

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• Courtesy Of Pranish Pradhan
• Ken Ellingwood

The bylines in Seven Days reveal who wrote what, but they almost never identify the editors who coach our journalists through the sometimes grueling process of reporting and writing their stories. Hidden, humble proxies for the reader, editors are the unsung heroes of journalism. This week I'm calling out one, Ken Ellingwood, who is making this newspaper better. Ken spent the past few weeks working with writer Alison Novak on her complicated cover article about the use of restraint and seclusion in schools; last Thursday the journalism prof and 20-year veteran of the Los Angeles Times squeezed in a lunchtime lesson on story structure for our entire writing staff.

It's not easy to write a compelling story — about a complex subject — that is accurate and engages the reader from start to finish. Having the goods is step one. Then comes the daunting task of assembling the research, interviews and eyewitness reporting into a narrative. Potentially agonizing, especially in long-form stories, it's a part of journalism that never makes it into the movies or TV shows. Nobody wants to watch Watergate reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein puzzling over story organization, making outlines or rearranging paragraphs. But, at the urging of vigilant editors, you can bet they did.

At every media outlet that cares about good writing, articles go through multiple iterations as the writer and editors work to make them better, with solid documentation, on-the-record examples and lively prose. For many of us at Seven Days, that is the job description. What's rare is the chance to stop the hamster wheel and talk about it together.

Ken came to Burlington in 2021 when his wife, Monique Taylor, became the provost and chief academic officer of Champlain College. He agreed to be a contributing editor at Seven Days and soon met the inimitable Candace Page, who came to work for us a few years after she "retired" from the Burlington Free Press, in 2013. The two have decades of experience between them and share a desire to impart their knowledge to the next generation of reporters and editors. They compared notes and made a list of common challenges for writers, from crafting story leads to interviewing techniques. Just one of those was the focus of the first "Lunch and Learn" last summer at Burlington's Spot on the Dock. More than 20 staffers and freelancers came, and they wanted more. As the weather got colder and the pandemic waned, we moved the sessions into the office.

Ken is at ease in front of a crowd. After his work for the Times, covering Mexico and the Middle East, he taught journalism in China. His students were fascinated by his explanations of the U.S. media as well as stories about the protagonist of his recent book, First to Fall: Elijah Lovejoy and the Fight for a Free Press in the Age of Slavery, an abolitionist publisher murdered by a mob in the lead-up to the Civil War. Understated, wise and empathetic, Ken is a natural teacher and writing coach who now holds "office hours" every Thursday morning at Seven Days.

Alison, a former teacher, has benefited from Ken's one-on-one sessions. "I find it tremendously useful to talk with him as I'm trying to figure out the angle or scope of a story," she said. "He's a great listener and someone who asks probing, insightful questions that prompt me to reflect on what the story is really about."

As a story editor, Alison continued, Ken is "patient and methodical, helping me to be more precise in my word choice but also making sure the article captures the big picture. He also encourages me to try out new things — like ending a story in a way I've never thought of before."

You can see the results of their collaboration here.

At a time when newsrooms across the country are shedding veteran editors like Ken and Candy, we're deeply grateful for the opportunity to work with and learn from them.