Nieman Narrative Journalism Conference
On a late fall weekend in 2001, the Nieman Program on Narrative Journalism convened its first conference. More than 800 journalists traveled to Cambridge, Massachusetts to take part in three days of interactive seminars, lectures and readings with many of the nation’s leading practitioners. By the end of the conference, there had been 26 seminars, four plenary sessions, and three group readings, and it is from words spoken at these sessions that Nieman Reports compiled the report that follows. — Melissa Ludtke
In the mid-80’s, I worked at an underground food co-op in Washington, D.C. One night when I was bagging raisins, I noticed that a woman was staring at me. Finally, she stepped forward and said, “Michelle? Michelle Golden?” “No,” I said, “I’m not Michelle, but do you mean Michelle Golden from Madison, Wisconsin? And she said yes, that was exactly who she meant. I told her that I knew Michelle and that many people had mistaken me for her. A few years later, I moved to the West Coast. One Saturday morning as I was walking in downtown San Francisco, a woman approached me. She stopped in her tracks, looked me up and down, and said, “Michelle? Michelle Golden?” “No,” I said. “But what are the chances of your making the same mistake twice in your lifetime on two different coasts?” —Beth Kivel
