JACK LORD COOKSEY
Pleased to meet you. Come on in.
WRITER | EDITOR
Published stories, mostly long form
My journalism career began in the mid-1990s when newspapers were already beginning to transform.
The digital frontier seemed a long way off, yet I stayed the course with countless others into print media.
Formats and tools have changed drastically since the emergence of online media, but principles remain.
Ethics matter, writing matters and story still matters, despite the tendency to compress narratives down
to tiny bites for quick, easy consumption. Much of my writing here is built for audiences who understand
that the narrative is necessary if we care to gain true understanding of people and our world.
FEATURE PROFILE: JAMES LANE
October 2018
I spent a day-plus with the 25th state superintendent of public instruction, the person who oversees Virginia's K-12 schools. He was a truly engaging man to follow.
Update: This story won first place in Public Affairs Writing and a Best in Show from the Virginia Press Association in April 2019.
FEATURE: GROCERY WARS
October 2008
In the months before the home-grown food retailer Ukrop's handed over its storied family business to a huge global grocery company, I offered this in-depth exploration of the market and cultural forces that ultimately led to its eclipse as the market leader, and then the company's sale.
EXPLODED CAPTION: NASCAR PREVIEW
March 2014
The RichMag book opener was a feature photo with a long caption, called Focus. It was my job to plan these with the art director and, usually, to write the copy with the image, as I did here. It was always a lot of work for a short amount of copy, yet the focus was to open the book with something timely and relevant.
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