Nieman 80

Literature was my first love, but journalism fulfilled a purpose—the chance to right wrongs. I became aware of the visual power of television and the spoken word. I was influenced…

[sidebar style=”right” head=”Nieman 80″ deck=””]More Nieman Fellows on exemplary journalism that influenced them[/sidebar]The work that made a difference to me as a new journalist is “Der Aufmacher: Der Mann, der…

“1920 Diary” by Isaac Babel has resonated with me for many years. Babel was a Russian-born journalist and writer of Jewish descent. At age 26 he was embedded with the…

Nieman 80 More Nieman Fellows on exemplary journalism that influenced them I have often been inspired by beautifully reported and written narrative histories that bring the “deeper news” to life.…

I discovered Dorothy Thompson when I needed something from the 1930s to fill out a class I was teaching on narrative reporting. Her reports on the rise of Hitler were…

I read “Next of Kin” in 2002 and it changed my sense of what is possible in journalism. After reading it, I became a fanatic follower and student of David…

The New York Times critic A.O. Scott once observed that great novels often “blend private destinies with public events.” So too with great nonfiction; it was the private sufferings of…

It was all a dream. I used to read Word Up! Magazine. And The Source, Vibe, and XXL.[sidebar style=”right” head=”Nieman 80″ deck=””]More Nieman Fellows on exemplary journalism that influenced them[/sidebar]I…

The America’s Cup in the summer of 1983 was not only the longest and most intensive assignment of my career—one that went on day and night for four months—but it…

[sidebar style=”right” head=”Nieman 80″ deck=””]More Nieman Fellows on exemplary journalism that influenced them[/sidebar]Growing up, I craved a more significant existence than seemed available in rural Kentucky. Climbing the ladder as…