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Context, Contacts and Accuracy Were Key in Paducah, Kentucky

This photo of Michael Carneal was taken during an early court appearance. Photo courtesy of The Paducah Sun.No one had a hint of—and to this day even he cannot describe—…

Restraint and Empathy Defined Reporting in Pearl, Mississippi

Pearl High School students pay homage to their fallen classmates during a candlelight memorial service held at Paul Truitt Memorial Baptist Church. Photo by Vickie King/The Clarion-Ledger.Reports of shootings at…

Making Sense Out of a Tragedy

Don’t Report What You Don’t Know

Public Pressure for a Responsible Press

The dizzying whirl of spin and counterspin which marked the months of coverage of President Clinton’s sex life has now come to an end. It’s time to ask what we’ve…

Measuring the Effects of Changing the Way Violence Is Reported

Reporting on crime and violence has been a staple in the newspaper diet since before the pennycress. In that time, one by-product of this coverage has remained consistent: readers have…

The Violence Reporting Project:

In 1995, Jane Ellen Stevens, a science writer, embarked on a collaborative project with Dr. Lori Dorfman, Director of the Berkeley Media Studies Group, a public health research organization, and…

The Courts and the Media: Improving the Dialogue

Youngster at Wayne County Juvenile Justice Center in Detroit. Photo by Pauline Lubens/The Detroit Free Press.In ancient times, a coin was flipped to assist people in important decisions of life.…

Lasting Connections of a Nieman Year

In the end, the Nieman year is always about people.The people who share that magical title of “fellow,” and those whom we meet along the route of our nine-month carriage…

A Bit of Hope on Education Coverage, a Mea Culpa

Imaging Education: the Media and Schools in AmericaEdited by Gene I. MaeroffTeachers College Press. 240 Pages. $50 hc, $23.95 pb.In the winter 1997 edition of Nieman Reports, I issued the…

SLAPP and Black Hole of Internet

In a year when journalism is running wild on the Internet and the transgressions of the press have made headlines, e.g. CNN’s nerve gas broadcast, the fabricated stories in The…