Skip to content Skip to footer

Reporting From The Ground Up

Dudley Althause

Independent reporter covering Mexico, Latin America and beyond for over three decades. Frequent contributor to he Wall Street Journal. Nominee for the 1992 Pulitzer Prize in International Reporting for his articles on the cholera epidemic in Peru and Mexico.

Summary

What I try to do is get right on the ground and talk to people, learn about their experiences, and try to find out what their motivations are. I try to write the story from the ground up. Too often with journalists, the writing comes off as if you’re looking into people’s lives and trying to describe their reality from the outside. But the fact is you’re still imposing your reality on their lives, when it should be the other way around. But this can only come from listening and listening and listening. Be willing to change your tack and your opinions when you learn something else.

Reporting From The Ground Up - Under The Volcano