Articles

Will This Racial Reckoning Finally Force Newsrooms to Listen to Every Staffer’s Voice?

Will This Racial Reckoning Finally Force Newsrooms to Listen to Every Staffer’s Voice?

I’ll never forget the day the publisher spotted me as I was returning to my desk after lunch. She dressed me down in the middle of the newsroom, with more…
Refugee Journalists Bring Access to Stories that Would Otherwise Be Missed

Refugee Journalists Bring Access to Stories that Would Otherwise Be Missed

It all began with a Facebook post in early 2016. Hussin Satoof, a Syrian refugee living in rural Western Germany, appealed for help finding his nephew Ahmad. The 17-year-old, who…
A Journalist Wrestles with the Complex History of Racism in America

A Journalist Wrestles with the Complex History of Racism in America

Issac J. Bailey, a 2014 Nieman Fellow, is a journalist, author, and race relations seminar creator and facilitator. Here he shares an experience that forced him to take…
Is More Speech the Way to Counter Bad Speech?

Is More Speech the Way to Counter Bad Speech?

On May 29, I watched in disbelief as the police handcuffed a CNN crew while broadcasting live from Minneapolis in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder. The appalling violation of…
Countries Locking Up Journalists May Have a New Slogan: “It Happens in America, Too”

Countries Locking Up Journalists May Have a New Slogan: “It Happens in America, Too”

preI thought I’d grown accustomed to daily attacks on the press. Being a journalist in Serbia often means you spend more time fending off pressure from politicians than doing your…
With Press Freedom in Sharp Decline, a Russian Journalist Turns to Political Activism

With Press Freedom in Sharp Decline, a Russian Journalist Turns to Political Activism

On May 28, Ilya Azar, 35, a Novaya Gazeta journalist and activist, was arrested near the entrance to Moscow’s police department, where he was picketing, holding a small placard. On…
George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and One Journalist’s Painfully Honest Self-Examination on Racism

George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and One Journalist’s Painfully Honest Self-Examination on Racism

last June, I traveled to Ghana for the first time. For most of my life, I wanted no connection to the dark continent. I had been convinced, by whom or…
Tara Reade’s Allegations and Trauma-Informed Reporting

Tara Reade’s Allegations and Trauma-Informed Reporting

The more I read about Tara Reade’s story, the less I know about her sexual assault allegation against Joe Biden. That’s a problem, not just for Reade but for every…
“Permission to be human”: TV Journalists Crying on Camera Is Understandable

“Permission to be human”: TV Journalists Crying on Camera Is Understandable

For the third time now, I have watched a TV anchor choke up and weep on camera during a live, stressful interview with a Covid-19 victim or family survivor. That…
Pandemic Project Asks What is Needed to Keep Journalism Viable

Pandemic Project Asks What is Needed to Keep Journalism Viable

The effects of COVID-19 are already being framed as an “extinction event” for journalism, causing dozens of news outlets to collapse around the world. Tens of thousands of newsroom jobs…