4th February 2025
‘Ask the Expert’: Tim Teeman talks editing, writing and the truth
Hello everyone,
It’s rare to hear a really seasoned journalist speak about their craft. Today’s ‘Ask the Expert’ does just that. Writer and editor Tim Teeman, of The Daily Beast, a news website based in New York, has so much incredible advice for student journalists.
As you’ll discover, he’s a big fan of understanding and revealing unbiased truth;
“The challenge for journalism right now is to face down those forces that seek to pervert facts — and to continue doing that work in an age of information acceleration mixed with social media polyphony.”
It was also fascinating to hear a writer talk about reading: the parts he enjoys and how that in turn informs his work. In particular, Tim loves quotes. It turns out that hearing what people talk about ‘what really happened’ is what drives him;
“The thing I love the most in an article are the quotes—spicy or revelatory or newsmaking or story-progressing quotes. The thing I am really looking for as a reader is: what did this journalist get from their subject that is new, that is making news, or is stunning, or is revelatory?
What have they asked them to make you go, ‘I cannot believe they said that!’ or… ‘That’s really new and interesting.’
And those quotes, that information, will then progress the story forward—so for the next journalist to come along to that story, that is going to be a significant benchmark to go from.”
Over many years at the Shine Awards we know that students never like to be pigeonholed or write about just one topic. So it’s really important to mention that Tim’s writing sprawls genres. He covers LGBTQ rights, interviews with remarkable people, the review of every show on Broadway, royalty or celebrity.
Embracing the radical and the cultural, there truly is something to learn for every budding student journalist in this week’s Ask the Expert…
If you’ve got questions or need more support, we’re here to answer your questions at shine@stationers.org
Register with the Shine School Media Awards and we can provide guidance and encouragement from now til our entry deadline in May.
Best wishes,
Richard Chapman
Chair, Shine School Media Awards