How are great journalists made? Whatever your image of an inspired origin story, it is unlikely to feature a young reporter sitting on the floor of her apartment reading a weekly from Omaha. But that was … Read more
I was a kid, really—24 or 25—walking up Chicago’s Michigan Avenue on my way to the bus when a man twice my age blocked my path. He was dressed in the uniform of the business elite and held out … Read more
On a sunny Friday in May, a sweetly solemn ceremony unfolded on the grounds of Harvard’s Lippmann House as Nieman Fellows gathered for a class reunion. Missing was Anja Niedringhaus, a treasured classmate and Associated Press photographer … Read more
I first read the lie under a competitor’s byline: the results of DNA testing on a rape case I was covering. My reporting partner and I didn’t know it was false but believed we’d been beaten on a story. We … Read more
For many mornings on my way into the Chicago Tribune newsroom, I passed by an Arthur Miller quote engraved in the lobby: “A good newspaper, I suppose, is a nation talking to itself.” That sentiment, as sturdy as the travertine … Read more
In this centennial year of the Pulitzer Prize, here are some works I’ve been thinking about: Kevin Boyle’s “Arc of Justice,” a powerful narrative about murder and racism in Jazz Age Detroit; Jerry Mitchell’s investigations of civil rights cold … Read more
If casting for an act one in this inglorious season of American political journalism, a mid-July moment in The Huffington Post newsroom might do. “After watching and listening to Donald Trump since he announced his candidacy for president, … Read more
On a recent visit to my daughter’s college campus, I heard student musicians talking about a New York Times Magazine profile, “The Passion of Nicki Minaj,” but it wasn’t what the Times likely hoped for when putting … Read more
Where Are the Women?”—last year’s cover story on the decline of women in senior journalism roles—did not lack for sources. Women were overwhelmingly willing to talk candidly about their careers and frustrations and eager to wrestle publicly … Read more
The Facebook posting was striking, coming from a friend who writes powerfully about race and was now arguing against the University of Oklahoma’s expulsion of fraternity members for their racist chants. “Educational institutions ought to educate—or try … Read more
