Quick, look away from the screen and make a short list of the top news stories of the year.

I bet you’re thinking of the divisive presidential election, the devastating hurricanes that struck Florida and North Carolina or maybe the soaring growth of artificial intelligence.

Stories that touch on those topics are certainly represented in my list of some of this year’s best Poynter articles below, but my favorite stories on best-of lists are always the unexpected ones. The ones that zig while others zag. The odd and the offbeat.

You’ll find those below, too, in stories about artificial intelligence stealing our work about the dangers of artificial intelligence, big newspaper chains firing staffers for talking to us and an absolutely wild news tip that turned out to be even worse than expected.

Thanks for reading Poynter this year. I hope you’ll join us for more zigging in 2025.

Why ‘Shattered Glass’ endures

By contributor Pete Croatto, published Jan. 24

Like many journalists of our generation, contributor Pete Croatto is filled with veneration for “Shattered Glass,” the 2003 film about noted fabulist Stephen Glass. In this deep dive into its making, Croatto said it “exemplifies the doggedness and integrity that can make journalism a noble endeavor.”

Not everyone feels that way. Decades after Glass’s downfall and the movie’s premiere, Croatto relayed his take to Adam L. Penenberg, one of the journalists who discovered Glass’ fabrications. Penenberg demurred.

“‘Shattered Glass’ is a movie about a liar, so my claim to fame is that I outed a liar,” he said. “Compare that to ‘All the President’s Men,’ where they took down the White House, or ‘Spotlight’ that took down the Catholic Church. So those movies may inspire people to uncover the truth,” while “Shattered Glass” is “a really weird story about a guy who found a loophole.”

It’s one of many spicy takes that Croatto uncovered in his months of reporting on a film that continues to stoke heat, including among its creators and subjects.

In New Orleans, a pioneering nonprofit newsroom ponders a future beyond its founder

By staff writer Amaris Castillo, published March 26

The deck could not have been more stacked against Karen Gadbois and her nascent nonprofit newsroom.

She had no journalism experience. She launched years before the nonprofit newsroom path had been blazed. Her city was already home to a storied newspaper. She was mostly self-funded — some of the money having come from her homeowners’ insurance after Hurricane Katrina flooded her house. And, no small thing, she was in treatment for breast cancer.

And yet, 15 years later, a timeframe when plenty of other nonprofits were founded and failed, The Lens is going strong. Amaris Castillo investigated why Gadbois’ next move matters — not just for her, but for the entire nonprofit journalism community.

A pink slime site used AI to rewrite our AI ethics article

By MediaWise director Alex Mahadevan, published March 27

In March, Poynter released its artificial intelligence ethics guide. In a twist that could not have been more ironic (or illustrative of the problem), a near-identical article appeared on a sketchy website hours later. It was likely written by AI.

Alex Mahadevan managed to look past the ridiculousness of the situation to find a grave lesson: “AI will be used increasingly to feed the online content beast — ethically or not. The only way you can compete is by experimenting with and implementing generative AI in your newsroom. AI is coming for your content, and this industry.”

Shut Out: Strategies for good journalism when sources dismiss the press

By faculty member Fernanda Camarena and director of program management Mel Grau, published May 3

It began with a crucial question: How must journalists adapt their work to serve their audiences with complete, fair and accurate reporting when key sources and newsmakers have opted out?

“No comment,” no response and no access have become far too common among those in power. Their shut-outs risk stymying the flow of information necessary for a democracy to function.

Our answer, at least the first part of it, came in a long report, full of solutions for journalists who refuse to take no for an answer.

Gannett fired an editor for talking to me

By media business analyst Rick Edmonds, published May 9

I’ll rely on Rick Edmonds’ lede to recount this miserable story:

Sarah Leach, an experienced editor overseeing 26 Gannett community papers in four states, was fired via video conference first thing the morning of Monday, April 29. She was accused, she said, of “sharing proprietary information with (a reporter for) a competing media company.”

The reporter in question was me.

Leach is a single mother of three and has a reputation for deeply caring about her work. She was fired before Edmonds even wrote his story. As Tom Jones wrote in his 2024 media roundup, “Not one of Gannett’s finer moments.”

We published a follow-up that found that Leach landed on her feet. And watch this space early next year for more good news.

The best Pulitzer leads (or ledes) in 2024

By senior scholar Roy Peter Clark, published May 20

Though I always look forward to the Pulitzer Prize announcements and the moment it provides to reflect on some of the best journalism from the previous year, I might look forward to Roy Peter Clark’s assessment of the winning stories’ ledes a bit more.

His overall take this year was as delightfully staggering as ever: “Taken together, this year’s Pulitzer Prize stories were great. Their leads, not so much.”

Clark’s beef was that this year’s ledes were too long. But don’t long, complicated investigations demand long, complicated ledes?

“I call to the witness stand Herman Melville: ‘Call me Ishmael.’ And Ralph Ellison: ‘I am an invisible man.’”

His top honor — a somber one this year — went to The Villages Daily Sun, for a lede about a couple who died during Hurricane Ian. It begins: “Robert and Ilonka Knes, 81 and 82, weren’t ready to run.”

What it was like to be in the room with Trump at NABJ

By faculty member Kerwin Speight, published July 31

From the moment it was announced, Donald Trump’s decision to appear at the annual convention of the National Association of Black Journalists was odd. It didn’t get any better when Trump stepped on that stage.

The conversation has been widely reported on, especially Trump’s comments about Kamala Harris “turning Black.” But Poynter’s Kerwin Speight was in the audience and shared this visceral take of what that was like.

“I go to NABJ almost every year to see old friends, acquire new knowledge and become a better journalist. This is the organization that supports and nurtures Black journalists so they can do the work that fuels democracy,” Speight wrote. “I went to Trump’s appearance because I wanted to see him answer tough questions that Black Americans care about. Now that it’s over, I do not anticipate that the controversy over whether NABJ should have invited Trump will end anytime soon. I’m OK with that.”

OnPoynt — Values Rising: Trends and traction in journalism and the news industry, a report from The Poynter Institute

By the Poynter staff, published in the summer

When Poynter’s president first mentioned that a number of Poynter staffers were contributing to a big project that took a sunnier view of the news industry than usual, I will admit I was skeptical. A scan of the Business & Work section of our site should tell you why. It’s tough out there.

The study won me over the second I got my hands on a draft. It’s realistic about the industry but focuses on some bright spots that have potential to grow even brighter — ”neither doom nor boom,” to steal the study’s words.

If you missed this this summer, or if you’re just feeling miserable about all this, grab a cup of coffee and give it a read. The fancy online presentation alone is worth the price of admission.

University of Florida student journalists lead on breaking big stories about former President Ben Sasse

By contributor Gabrielle Russon, published Aug. 28

It’s hard not to root for student journalists. They’re sometimes underappreciated, often underfunded and still always working at 110%.

And they often blow open big stories, as journalists at the Independent Florida Alligator did this summer, eventually leading to University of Florida President Ben Sasse’s abrupt resignation. Spending under Sasse’s office had tripled to $17.3 million in his first year as president, with much of that money going to GOP pals in Washington, D.C.

The paper’s editor-in-chief called the story’s principal reporter, a 21-year-old senior named Garrett Shanley, “a one-man army.”

Shanley wrote it in a green beach chair in the lawn outside his apartment, Charli XCX blasting through his noise-canceling headphones.

A USA Today columnist asked a fair question. The WNBA Players Association responded with an out-of-line statement.

By senior media writer Tom Jones, published Sept. 30

A few of our best-read stories follow a disturbing trend: widespread outrage over a reporter doing basic tenets of reporting. Such is the case with USA Today columnist Christine Brennan, a well-respected journalist and champion of women’s sports; and WNBA player DiJonai Carrington.

Carrington had just poked rookie star player Caitlin Clark in the eye during a playoff game. It looked accidental, but almost immediately went viral given Clark’s stature in the game. Brennan asked Carrington about it in a press conference — essentially: Was it intentional? And is it true that you and a teammate later laughed about it? Carrington answered “no” to both.

“A fair question asked, and a reasonable response given,” Tom Jones wrote. “That could have and should have been it. But the controversy was just heating up.”

Carrington was accosted with racial slurs and threats on social media by those who thought she poked Clark on purpose. Brennan was accused of pushing that narrative. The WNBA Players’ Association put out a statement called Brennan “unprofessional” and suggested her question was “designed to fuel racist, homophobic, and misogynistic vitriol on social media.”

“The WNBA Players Association is trying to protect its players,” Jones wrote. “I get that. But in this case, they chose the wrong target and the wrong message.”

An Asheville-based journalist and Poynter faculty member describes Hurricane Helene’s aftermath

By faculty member Tony Elkins, published Oct. 4

There was no shortage of news about Hurricane Helene’s shocking impact in North Carolina, but one particularly vivid piece from faculty member and journalist Tony Elkins recounted how, isolated in the storm’s aftermath, he found himself relying not on digital technology but on human connection and the power of radio to navigate the crisis.

When the storm struck early on Sept. 27, his survival instincts kicked in. Amid falling trees and chaos, the Asheville-based Elkins secured his family’s safety before heading into the neighborhood to check on others. Cell service faded, leaving only an emergency radio and local stations like Blue Ridge Public Media and 99.9 FM to provide updates. The voices on the radio became lifelines.

As the days unfolded, neighbors took chainsaws to fallen trees, carving out paths for emergency responders. Meanwhile, journalists worked tirelessly, often through their own hardships, to document the devastation and share resources.

Elkins’ retrospective underscores a vital truth: In the most dire moments, a combination of human effort, hyperlocal journalism and trusted communication channels can be the difference between chaos and cohesion.

A tipster warned of a ‘dysfunctional’ hire at a local police department. That was an understatement.

By media business reporter Angela Fu, published Oct. 14

An unbelievable tip. A curious reporter. An investigation that found that the rabbit hole was deeper than anyone could have guessed.

KHOU 11’s monthslong investigation of a police department in Coffee City, Texas, fits just about every trope for a classic journalism investigation.

But you haven’t heard anything like this before. The story is stunning in scope and impact, as Angela Fu details in her behind-the-scenes look.

It was enough to earn KHOU two national Edward R. Murrow Awards and a Poynter Journalism Prize in local accountability reporting.

Fun fact: This was also our most-read story of the year.

How Sellout Crowd, the Oklahoma sports website, went from anticipated startup to heartbreaking disaster in 8 months

By contributor Pete Croatto, published Oct. 16

Sellout Crowd had all the makings of The Next Big Thing: high-profile and deep-pocketed funders, an ambitious plan, a sharp focus on new media and a collection of the best sports reporters in Oklahoma.

But the problems began almost as soon as it launched.

The culprit, as Pete Croatto details in this dogged investigation of what went wrong, was Mike Koehler, a former editor at The Oklahoman turned marketing entrepreneur and founder of the site.

Koehler offered something nearly unimaginable to the journalists who fell for his vision: a comfortably middle-class life without endless toil.

In the end, Croatto writes, “Koehler faded away from his friends and employees like an unanswered prayer while hard-driving survivors kept Sellout Crowd viable for investors who never arrived. Dreams were delayed; careers disrupted.”

Even worse: A visionary news site that “should have been a beacon” in an industry bereft of good news sputtered and failed. Its downfall is a cautionary tale.

Journalists should ask hard and fair questions

By senior vice president and ethics chair Kelly McBride, published Oct. 21

You might think CBS News co-host Tony Dokoupil and Fox News anchor Bret Baier don’t have much in common.

But in late October, both led interviews that ran them afoul of a cardinal rule of journalism: The reporter should not become the story.

Dokoupil pushed author Ta-Nehisi Coates on his views on Israel. Baier seemed more interested in grandstanding than in asking Kamala Harris answerable questions.

“Dokoupil and Baier both claimed they were just asking hard questions,” Kelly McBride writes. “But, in fact, they both structured their questions in ways that indicated they weren’t really interested in the answers. Instead, they seemed more interested in trying to score points with a subset of the audience who share their particular beliefs.”

Rather than just explain where they went wrong, McBride went a step further and showed how they could have asked their questions — and accomplished their goals — in ways that were actually productive. It’s a master class in interviewing in just a few hundred words.

Hurricane season is nothing new to a 4th-generation Floridian. But navigating misinformation amid stronger storms complicates matters.

By contributor Nicole Slaughter Graham, published Oct. 22

Any Floridian can tell you there’s a not-so-fun dichotomy between how they react to news about hurricanes and how friends and loved ones from afar do so. Grizzled Sunshine State denizens tend to get a little annoyed and then begin prepping, if necessary, with hurricane shutters and supplies. Meanwhile, out-of-staters send panicked messages about deadly outcomes and evacuations.

But things are changing. The water is getting warmer, resulting in more powerful hurricanes that pick up strength quicker than before. And while local news shrinks, misinformation surges, muddying Floridians’ decisions about what to do next.

“During times of crisis, local news provides trusted information,” Nicole Slaughter Graham writes. “Harmful misinformation seeps in when that news is lacking. When we’re under threat, we often don’t have the means to distinguish the two.”

It’s a harrowing look at the real-world effects of misinformation during times of crisis.

But wait … there’s memes

By Poynter audience engagement producer TyLisa Johnson, published throughout the year

Poynter’s Instagram memes continued to rank as some of our most popular work in 2024. Here’s a selection of some of the best from this year:

• poynter wrapped
• olympics memes
• why is the media not talking about this???
• halloween memes
• reader submitted set

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