Niemans @ Work

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From Threatened Censorship to Box Office Hit: Many Colombians rallied behind a documentary by Margarita Martinez, NF ’09, about the long difficult path to peace

By Niemans @ Work January 22, 2019

I was ready for the premiere of my film. For five years, I’d been working on a behind-the-scenes documentary about the torturous and ultimately successful negotiations between the Colombian government and the FARC guerrillas. “The Negotiation”—“La Negociación” … Read more

“I can’t imagine our community without the Advocate”: Editor and publisher Chris Cobler, NF ’06, prioritizes holding local officials accountable while pushing to keep 172-year-old paper on sound financial footing

By Niemans @ Work November 8, 2018

Our family-owned newspaper, the Victoria (Texas) Advocate, is an exception to the corporate media strategy of squeezing out every last cent of the brand until it has no value left. The owners’ roots in Victoria run three … Read more

In the Transformation to an Information Company, Bringing in Substantial Revenue: Chronicle of Higher Education editor in chief Michael Riley, NF ’95, leads a team creating in-depth reports that are a new revenue stream

By Niemans @ Work March 2, 2018

I spend many of my waking hours—and some of my sleeping hours, too—thinking about how best to ensure the health and long-term growth of The Chronicle of Higher Education Inc., where I’m president and editor in chief. Read more

Identifying Mexico’s Missing Persons: Sandra Barrón Ramírez, a 2017 Knight Visiting Nieman Fellow, is designing a universal data standard to organize information about missing persons in Mexico

By Niemans @ Work February 12, 2018

In February 2015, Justicia Cotidiana (“Everyday Justice”) hosted a hackathon for journalists, developers, and designers in Mexico City, Mexico. It was there that I first heard the term “black figure” to refer to the disparity between the … Read more