Cohen's upcoming book focuses on entrepreneurs who succeed not by creating something entirely new, but by dramatically improving an existing product. This "there has to be a better way" mindset is a powerful and accessible innovation framework.
Ben Cohen generates story ideas not by networking, but by voraciously reading everything and connecting disparate nuggets of information. This demonstrates that a key competitive advantage in journalism (and other fields) can be synthesis rather than access.
To cover a dominant, tension-free basketball team, Cohen focused on their one minor conflict: the removal of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. This micro-narrative provided a humanizing angle and a clever way to tell the larger story of their success.
In his first Wall Street Journal internship, Ben Cohen's editor completely rewrote his story. This brutal but effective feedback immediately taught him the high standards required and accelerated his development as a writer.
Because The Wall Street Journal's sports section launched in 2009, it had no legacy or established "way of doing things." This clean slate forced it to invent a modern, creative approach to sports coverage, free from the baggage of traditional newspapers.
Ben Cohen began his journalism career by repeatedly writing letters to his local newspaper as a child. This early, low-stakes practice built foundational skills and a passion that directly led to his professional success.
Founding WSJ sports editor Sam Walker used a powerful creative filter for stories. The idea had to be so clever and novel that a key source could plausibly say, "I've never seen anything like this before." This ensures originality and impact.
Ben Cohen's book "The Hot Hand" wasn't sparked by a current event but by his discovery of a fierce, long-running academic debate about the phenomenon. He realized the intellectual conflict itself, especially when challenged by new data, was a compelling narrative spine.
To explain the complex, vital role of semiconductor machine maker ASML, Cohen didn't write about the company abstractly. Instead, he profiled a single employee whose job is to keep one machine running, putting a human face on a massive technological and economic story.
Driscoll's had been discarding its best-tasting berries because they were too delicate for the standard supply chain. By reframing this flaw, they created a premium product line, charged more, and met a hidden consumer demand for superior flavor.
Cohen finds successful column topics by trusting his own curiosity about seemingly niche subjects, like premium berries or ASML's engineers. He operates on the principle that if he finds something genuinely interesting, a broader audience will too, even if they don't know it yet.