Every week, I will shine the spotlight on some of the best storytelling in the business and offer my comments. “3 Great Stories of the Week” will post every Monday at 8 AM.
I probably would have ignored the following three stories had I not known who produced them.
I would have shrugged at the prospect of reading 3,000 words about the daily deals company Groupon.
I would have laughed at the notion of spending 25 minutes learning about the man behind the Heimlich maneuver.
And I would have yawned at the idea of celebrating the 100th anniversary of the first presidential press conference.
But I respected the authors behind the stories, so I gave each one a shot. And wow, was I rewarded.
As a reader and viewer of journalism, I truly appreciate when someone can expand my knowledge about a subject with a thorough, well-researched work of storytelling. I highly recommend each of the articles below. If their topics don’t tickle your fancy at first, just allow them a few paragraphs (or, in the case of the Heimlich story, a few minutes) to lure you in.
Greed is Groupon (3/13/13, The Verge): This is a long one, but it’s worth it. Writer Ben Popper mostly ignores the rise of the daily deals giant Groupon and heads straight to the behind-the-scenes details surrounding its fall. Surely you have checked out sites like Groupon and wondered, “How do these guys make any money?” As Popper’s piece shows, sometimes the company leaders don’t quite have the answer, either.