Articles

In Britain, Rottweilers Attack

The timing could not have been better. Several days after I was asked, as a Nieman Fellow, to write an article on the apparent lack of civility by British journalists,…

Do Concessions Protect First Amendment?

Freedom’s Voice: The Perilous Present and Uncertain Future of the First AmendmentRobert D. RichardsBrassey’s. 177 Pages. $23.95The New York Times knew what it was doing when it hired Yale Professor…

Pioneer in Coverage of Racial Injustice

The Baltimore Afro-American, 1892-1950Howard FarrarGreenwood Publishing Group 220 Pages. $59.95.Relatively little has been written about the struggle and rise to prominence of America’s most prodigious black newspapers. Now, with the…

Civility as a Reporting Tool

In India, workers look like ants next to the giant ships being dismantled. Photo by Perry Thorsvik, The Baltimore Sun.Years ago I confronted the president of the Baltimore City Council,…

Arrogance Wins? American Journalism’s Identity Crisis

Unlike other trades, crafts, or professions, the American press is constantly in your face in one form or another: in your eyes, your ears—and an increasing number of critics these…

Fall 1998: Watchdog Journalism Introduction

In the following pages Nieman Reports continues its call for more watchdog reporting with an article by Murrey Marder cautioning that aggressive watchdog reporting does not require arrogance, an essay…

Indonesian Media Still Censoring Itself

Watching events in Jakarta, I felt the straps of my journalistic straitjacket loosening. The Indonesian government has announced the end of the licensing system. But is press freedom really dawning?…

‘No Chicanos on TV’

I think that I shall never see any Chicanos on TV*

White House Redfines Tiananmen Square

I stood under Mao’s portrait as Clinton’s limousine pulled onto Tiananmen. I saw the 21-gun salute fired from the heart of Tiananmen. A brisk arrival ceremony was held directly to…

Widening Gap Between Haves and Have-Nots

New Providence Island, The Bahamas, 1982. © Barbara Norfleet, “All the Right People,” Little, Brown and Company.In recent months the daily press has perched on the edge of repentance. With…