Journalist’s Trade

In chronicling the evolution of news, the Nieman Journalism Lab tracks start-ups, identifies innovations, and shares lessons about how quality journalism can thrive in the Internet age. Not every success…

Instead of printing the paper every day, ‘we would provide to our subscribers an e-reader such as a Kindle or a Nook. This serves the dual purpose of strengthening our…

‘Does the fact that this story hasn’t been told mean that there’s not enough to tell it?’

How does a journalist make the journey to author? A variety of paths and potential pitfalls are here for you to learn from. Authors of memoirs, novels and nonfiction narratives…

‘The story must move beyond a verbal regurgitation of hastily recalled anecdotes. You need to report live from your life, researching with interviews, data and documents that support your recollections.’

Ours was a year of uncertainty, especially after reverberations from September’s economic crash worked their way through the global economy. It was the fall of 2008, and my Nieman year…

‘What transforms journalists into nonfiction authors is the heft of their voice, the narrative arc of their idea, and its marketability. These aren’t lessons that tend to be reinforced on…

‘The desire to have the best—or most salable—story must never undermine our responsibility to challenge even our most compelling material.’

Paul Lieberman, whose newspaper series is being adapted into the film “Gangster Squad,” offers tips—and cautions—for journalists when film or TV folks are interested in a story you have reported.…

This story is ‘about how the worlds of journalism and fiction writing are not as unimaginably different as one might think.’