ISSUE

Fall 2014

The Future of Foreign News

The veteran correspondents from the so-called legacy media who once flooded the crisis zones have faded away. In their place has come an army of upstarts as well as freelancers, citizen journalists, and people working for NGOs. Meanwhile, the death toll in Syria of journalists continues to mount.
 

Above: <em>A Pakistani Army soldier shields his face from an Army helicopter</em>
On Cover: <em>Girls attending school in Afghanistan in 2002 despite death threats from Taliban holdouts</em>
<em>Photos by Tyler Hicks/The New York Times</em>

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Articles

International Journalism

The Education of a Foreign Correspondent

In 1992, when I went to Sarajevo as a young and idealistic reporter to cover the Balkan wars, there were no hostile environment courses and no PTSD de-briefings. We learned…
Janine di Giovanni
December 12, 2014
Adopting Journalistic Techniques at the United Nations
Opinion

Adopting Journalistic Techniques at the United Nations

Looked at from a certain angle, the United Nations could be the world’s biggest news organization, with well-staffed bureaus in most crisis zones. Rather than one harried correspondent covering everything…
Iason Athanasiadis
December 12, 2014
Who Owns the News in Indonesia?
Features

Who Owns the News in Indonesia?

A couple months before Indonesia’s presidential election last July, all the members of the VIVAnews editorial board received a strongly-worded e-mail. The sender was the popular news site’s boss, Anindra…
Wahyu Dhyatmika
December 12, 2014
Niemans @ Work

Cristian Lupsa, NF ’14, on narrative’s inroads in Romania

In Romania, there is little tradition of deeply reported, well-told true stories, partly a result of an immature media culture, partly a symptom of 40-plus years of communism that has…
Cristian Lupșa
December 12, 2014
Kalpana Jain, NF ’09, teaches girls in India to report stories the media misses
Niemans @ Work

Kalpana Jain, NF ’09, teaches girls in India to report stories the media misses

This summer, in the villages of north India, I trained rural young women, ages 15 to 22, in the skills of journalism so they could claim their own voices and…
Kalpana Jain
December 12, 2014
Honoring Anja Niedringhaus by Supporting Future Visual Journalists
From the Curator

Honoring Anja Niedringhaus by Supporting Future Visual Journalists

For those who care about foreign reporting, the news about the news isn’t good. Reporters kidnapped, beheaded, disappeared. The Committee to Protect Journalists documents the toll with a grim menu…
Ann Marie Lipinski
December 12, 2014
David Finkel and the Art of Immersion Reporting
Uncategorized

David Finkel and the Art of Immersion Reporting

David Finkel is a master of immersion reporting, most brilliantly showcased in his two books that follow U.S. soldiers in Iraq and their return to civilian life. A member of…
David Finkel
December 12, 2014
What GamerGate Can Teach Journalists About Handling Twitter Storms
Watchdog

What GamerGate Can Teach Journalists About Handling Twitter Storms

Actually, it’s about ethics in games journalism.” Earlier this year, this simple sentence came to encapsulate a vicious online debate. Was the social media storm known as “GamerGate” an honest…
December 12, 2014
What's the Difference Between Activism and Journalism?
Books

What’s the Difference Between Activism and Journalism?

At a March 2013 meeting in Doha, Qatar, in which press freedom activists gathered to develop a strategy for responding to the violence in Syria, a heated discussion broke out…
Joel Simon
December 12, 2014
A New Generation of Correspondents Hustles for Work with the Help of the Web
Features International Journalism

A New Generation of Correspondents Hustles for Work with the Help of the Web

In March, when it became clear something big was happening in Crimea, Jacob Resneck packed his knapsack with a laptop, sound recorder and camera and boarded a one-way flight from…
John Dyer
December 12, 2014
Sounding

Telling Complicated, Beautiful Stories About Chicago

Growing up, if my sister and I were reading, we didn’t have to do chores. So, we read all the time. We loved a good story.My mother wanted us to…
Dawn Turner
December 12, 2014
Why Journalists Take the Risk to Report from Dangerous Places
Live @ Lippmann

Why Journalists Take the Risk to Report from Dangerous Places

Ninety-five percent of my job is just to get to places, to read body language, to get past people who are trying to stop me from taking my pictures. The…
Tyler Hicks
December 12, 2014
Technology

Embracing Encryption in an Age of Surveillance

Modern communica­tions and the rise of the surveillance state make it harder than ever for journalists abroad to protect their sources. The consequences for sources can be dire, even fatal.Journalists…
Michael Fitzgerald
December 12, 2014
As Legacy News Outlets Retreat, Who Will Be There to Report on the World?
Features International Journalism

As Legacy News Outlets Retreat, Who Will Be There to Report on the World?

In October, as Ebola raged out of control and unsettled much of the world, I began making plans for a reporting trip to West Africa. I had covered a minor…
Joshua Hammer
December 11, 2014
Lorie Conway, NF ’94, tells the story of Beatrice Mtetwa, defender of justice
Niemans @ Work

Lorie Conway, NF ’94, tells the story of Beatrice Mtetwa, defender of justice

Human rights lawyer Mtetwa continues to speak out despite being arrested and imprisonedA film about Beatrice Mtetwa, the internationally known, hard-charging human rights lawyer in Zimbabwe, was a natural.What was…
Lorie Conway
December 10, 2014