Four decades ago reporting on the environment was what Paul Rogers, natural resources and environment writer at the San Jose Mercury News, calls “a fringe pursuit.” He writes that “the craft is now firmly entrenched as a key beat … Read more
“They are pictures from the heart, of devastated buildings and of devastated people. They are images of us—the living—trying to mourn our invisible dead.” These words—part of a reflection on the connections we’ve made with the vast array of images … Read more
As conflict in the Middle East has intensified, scrutiny of the press coverage has likewise increased, with charges of biased reporting being made from all sides. Often such charges lead to internal reviews within news organizations; some examine not only … Read more
With more newspapers now using graphics to display information, John Maxwell Hamilton, dean of the Manship School of Mass Communications at Louisiana State University, along with several colleagues, examined how accurately USA Today—a leader in the graphics revolution—reported information … Read more
Journalists who devote considerable time to coverage of immigration and investigation of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) write about why they report on a topic that rarely makes Page One. They also share experiences in how they’ve reported these stories, especially in the wake of the terrorist attacks. Arguably, this is one of the more difficult beats given the secrecy with which the INS guards much of what it does—a secrecy that some news organizations are now challenging on constitutional grounds. – Melissa Ludtke, Editor Read more
In October 2001, journalists, publishers, professors and media and stock analysts met for two days at Harvard University to discuss varying approaches to paying for the reporting and distribution of news in the years ahead. This conference—Paying for the Next … Read more
At the Nieman Foundation’s fourth Watchdog Project Conference, held in the fall of 2001 at Harvard University, the topic was “How to Ask Probing Questions.” The Watchdog Project was established in 1998 with funds provided by Murrey Marder, a retired … Read more
In Southeast Asia, journalists’ experiences vary considerably. In some, repressive regimes clamp down hard on press freedoms through the passage of restrictive laws, the practice of intimidation, and the control of advertising dollars. In others, … Read more
Journalism is on a fast-paced, transformative journey, its destination still unknown. That the Web and other media technologies are affecting mightily the practice of journalism is beyond dispute. Less clear is any shared vision of what the future holds.
In this issue, words about journalists' experiences in the digital era transport our vision forward, while our eye takes us on a visual voyage back to a time when newspapers wove communities together. – Melissa Ludtke, Editor Read more
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 Read more