Events

In 1961, FCC Chairman Newt Minow famously described television as a “vast wasteland” and called for new public interest programming. Fifty years later, Minow gathered at Harvard with others including Harvard Law School Dean Martha Minow, Nieman Foundation Curator Ann Marie Lipinski (NF ’90), Jonathan Alter of Bloomberg View, and Harvard Law School’s Yochai Benkler, Terry Fisher, John Palfrey, and Jonathan Zittrain to reflect on the changed nature of television and the dramatic shifts that have shaped the media landscape in the past five decades. Read more

Leading Latin American journalists — including past and present Nieman Fellows — gathered at Harvard on Nov. 18 for a one-day conference that took a close look at press freedom in Latin America. Read more

The Nieman Foundation, in partnership with the Harvard Writers at Work Lecture Series, will host narrative journalism icon Gay Talese in conversation with Esquire magazine’s Chris Jones, two-time winner of the National Magazine Award. The Nov. 18 event starts at 2 p.m. in Fong Auditorium, Boylston Hall, and is free and open to the public. Read more

Uprisings and revolt are shaping the political future of Arab nations, and journalists are trying to respond to the demand for reporting that people can trust. On Thursday, Oct. 27, Nieman Reports hosted "The Arab Press: Can It Keep Up With Political Transformations?" Read more

Journalism is a powerful tool in society. At its best, journalism has the power to expose corruption, restore justice, and spur societal reform. Too often, however, a journalist’s work is adulterated with other motives: the desire to please a boss, get their story on the front page, get a promotion or make friends in the business. Read more

Gaps between perception and reality, and ideas for closing for them, were a big part of the discussion as journalists and academics examined legal and economic issues connected to immigration during a conference Friday, Sept. 30 at the Nieman Foundation. Read more

Join executives from The Boston Globe for a discussion about the paper’s much-anticipated new subscription-only website, BostonGlobe.com, on Monday, Sept. 26 at 5:30 p.m. Guests will include Martin Baron, the Globe’s editor; Chris Mayer, the newspaper’s publisher; Michael Manning, product director; and Lisa DeSisto, the paper’s chief advertising officer. Joshua Benton, director of the Nieman Journalism Lab, will moderate the discussion about the Globe’s new paywall. Read more

The end of the Cold War and the collapse of a dozen totalitarian states 20 years ago triggered the emergence of democracy in the region previously known as the Communist bloc. Each country took its own path: Some are now full democracies and part of the European Union, some struggle with fragile democracies and some remain de facto authoritarian regimes. Read more

It's a great pleasure for me to welcome you to the 44th presentation of the Worth Bingham Prize for Investigative Journalism. The Nieman Foundation is extremely pleased to have been invited to serve as steward of this important prize in partnership with the family of Worth Bingham and to hold the ceremony here at Walter Lippmann House. Read more

The Christopher J. Georges Award for Excellence in Student Journalism honors exceptional, in-depth reporting by a student reporter on a policy issue of importance affecting his/her campus, community, or beyond. Read more