Pulitzer winner Lane DeGregory on the power of local storytelling

Mark Armstrong sits down with Lane DeGregory, the Pulitzer Prize-winning enterprise reporter for the Tampa Bay Times covering "hope and humanity." 

DeGregory, whose work has been featured frequently on Storyboard over the years, is now celebrating 25 years at the Tampa Bay Times. She takes us through her process — from connecting with the community, to developing story ideas, and earning the trust of your subjects. She also reveals who inspires her work — from fellow journalists to musicians and songwriters.

DeGregory also hosts the journalism podcast WriteLane, and is the author of the 2023 anthology, "The Girl in the Window and Other True Tales: An Anthology with Tips for Finding, Reporting, and Writing Nonfiction Narratives." 

The title story from that book, "The Girl in the Window," won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing in 2009. DeGregory told the story of a girl named Dani who had suffered from severe neglect and was adopted by a new family. She returned to Dani's story ten years later, in 2017. 

Get the full show notes and reading list: https://niemanstoryboard.org/2025/07/31/pulitzer-lane-degregory-power-of-local-storytelling/

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Show Credits

Hosted and produced by Mark Armstrong
Episode editor: Kelly Araja
Audience editor: Adriana Lacy
Promotional support: Ellen Tuttle
Operational support: Paul Plutnicki, Peter Canova

Nieman Foundation interim curator: Henry Chu
Music: “Golden Grass,” by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue)
Cover design by Adriana Lacy

Nieman Storyboard is presented by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard.

Chapters

• 0:00 Storyboard: Lane DeGregory