Last fall, someone at a journalism conference asked me a question I’ve never been asked before: What are you working on right now that you’re excited about?

As a person who spends a great amount of time around journalists, I can’t believe I’ve never thought to ask this before. My questions are often: How did you find this story? What did you learn? Did anything change?

But “what are you excited about?” gets at that feeling when the puzzle pieces start coming together and the picture emerges. It’s this buzz of understanding that led a lot of us to ask questions for a living. It’s the magic of getting the photos, the video, the words, the data, the design, the engagement — all of it — right. 

In these strange pandemic days, “excited” might not be the best word. I am not excited about tracking layoffs or journalist deaths because of COVID-19. But I am dedicated to it. Maybe you’re devoted to bringing real information to your community. Maybe you carry the weight of witnessing deaths and job losses and economic devastation. 

Whatever the right word is, we want to share the work you’re proud of and learn about how you did it. I’ll tell you more next week about where this idea came from, but I’d like to make a shift in Local Edition and highlight your work each week. 

Here’s a Google Form to get started. You can share something you made or built or something you admire. I’ll take it from there and, if I highlight it, will let you know first.

By the way, I don’t have any stories right now that feel exciting. I’m not sure when that word will feel right again. But I do have stories that feel important, compelling and meaningful, and I can’t wait to share them with you.

Sponsored content: Earn an M.S. in Media Solutions and Innovation online at West Virginia University. Local media outlets are more important than ever, and current owners are looking for successors who will be an integral part of their communities. This is a perfect time to learn and grow as a media entrepreneur through a program that connects you with these owners.

While you’re here:

• Join me today at noon Eastern time for a webinar from the Columbia Journalism Review and the Tow Center for Digital Journalism where we’ll talk about tracking the ongoing changes to our industry. 

• Election SOS is coming at exactly the right time. This new project offers free training to journalists covering elections. You can learn more here.

• In Oregon, newsrooms are teaming up to cover the coronavirus.   

• Read Nieman Reports’ piece on how to save local journalism. 

• Take this “Journalism and the pandemic” survey. 

• Student journalists at the University of Missouri have formed a pop-up newsroom! 

• Take part in Membership Puzzle Project’s handbook. 

• See where Facebook Journalism Project’s latest funding is going. 

• And share with Local News Lab who and what you’re celebrating right now. 

That’s it for me. Get some fresh air if you can.

Kristen