ISSUE

Fall 2006

Global Migration and Immigration: Stories and Images About the Journey

When I was a border correspondent, I learned to move between both sides, quickly and frequently, physically and mentally, while striving for balance. I learned to maneuver in gray areas. And I learned there was no substitute for being out in the field, on the street, at the line — talking with migrants and cops and desperados, the gatekeepers of the secret worlds.

Articles

Poet Donald Hall Inspires Nieman Fellows

‘… even under the tyranny of daily deadlines, journalists can help themselves by thinking like a poet.’

What’s Old Is New Again

A documentary film about immigration reveals historic articles and images with messages familiar to us today.

Learning How Data Work With Reporting

RELATED ARTICLE“Data Talk When Reporters Know How to Listen”– By Stephen K. DoigWorking with the Investigative Reporters and Editors’ (IRE) National Institute of Computer-Assisted Reporting (NICAR), I and USA Today…

Data Talk When Reporters Know How to Listen

‘My god, I had no idea newspapers could do this kind of thing!’

The War of Words

‘The acrimony of the immigration debate testifies to the power of words to divide and ought to serve as a cautionary signal to journalists …’

Well-Chosen Words Can Weave Tangled Webs

An increasingly important job of political journalists is to ‘unmask the tricksters.’

Preparing for the Journey

RELATED ARTICLESAlso by Sonia Nazario“Ethical Dilemmas in Telling Enrique’s Story”“On the Narrative Approach”“On Ways of the Road”In her talk, Nazario offered specific guidance to journalists about the…

On the Narrative Approach

I think it’s a couple of things in terms of the craft and being able to tell a story well. I’m a big believer in fly-on-the-wall stories and trying to…

Watching a Community Changed by Immigration

With African Americans being displaced by Latinos, news coverage of South Central Los Angeles is inflaming tensions, not informing people.

Monitoring Activities

RELATED ARTICLE“Seeing Stories in What Wasn’t Being Reported”– By Phillip W.D. MartinWhat follows is a list of some of the independent European groups that monitor racist and anti-immigrant groups, parties…

Seeing Stories in What Wasn’t Being Reported

A public radio series explores the growth of the antiracism movement in Europe.

Migrations: The Story of Humanity on the Move

Sebastião Salgado photographed the plight these travelers want ‘to be made known.’

The Dangerous Numbers Game in Immigration Coverage

A radio journalist talks about the effects of lazy reporting, ‘opinion journalism,’ and some inherent difficulties in accurately telling this complicated story.

The Making of an Obituary Writer — And a Man

‘My words gave readers thousands of moments to remember of little lives well-lived.’

Rethinking Foreign Correspondents’ American Dream

‘No foreign news organization has the access, sources or resources to enable them to operate in the same league as domestic journalists.’

Lessons of Youth Shape a Writer’s Career

In his memoir, a sportswriter observes his life and times as he delves into issues deserving of journalists’ attention.

Making Visual What Is Often Put Into Words

From the magazine’s pages to its online editions, Nieman Reports is finding new ways to connect with audiences through words and images.

Journalism: Its Generational Passage

Samuel G. Freedman ‘urges young journalists to be independent thinkers in newsrooms filled with consensus and conformity.’

Fall 2006: Words & Reflections Introduction

Contending that Daniel Okrent’s book “Public Editor #1” might be “the only collection of ombudsman columns ever assembled that is a genuine page turner,” former Boston Globe ombudsman, Mark Jurkowitz,…

Observing the Exodus of Immigrants

‘What happens when a constantly replenishing immigrant group slows down dramatically or simply stops coming?’

Doing an Unenviable Job in an Enviable Way

A former ombudsman and media critic describes what Daniel Okrent wrote as public editor and what he has to say about the job he did.

Debunking the Myth of Liberal Media Bias

A journalist and author finds an enfeebled Washington press corps, more concerned with retaining personal access than serving the public interest.

Dutch Journalists Alter Their Coverage of Migrants

In the wake of a politician’s murder and the rise of populist politicians, journalists start to report routinely on societal issues related to migrant groups.

Don’t ‘Brown’ the Hispanics

A sociologist proposes a new way for journalists to handle the confusing task of using racial and ethnic identifications in news coverage.

Diffused Voices Demand Different Coverage

‘If the people aren't demonstrating … reporters need to find them by going to their homes and businesses, asking their opinions to understand their views.’

Chinese Migrants: Refreshing Reporting About a Longtime Trend

Concerns arise about the Chinese government’s limits on news coverage of migrant protests and worker abuse.

Fall 2006: Introduction

When I was a border correspondent, I learned to move between both sides, quickly and frequently, physically and mentally, while striving for balance. I learned to maneuver in gray areas.…

Journalists Patrol Ever-Changing Borders

Soon after the riots last year in France, I was reporting in a big gloomy housing project outside Paris known as La Dalle: The Slab. A cold wind rose off…

Becoming Part of the Story to Tell It to Others

‘In our approach to gathering this information, we knew there was a fine line between reporting and misrepresentation.’

Attempting to Bridge the Divide

‘Entering immigrant America on behalf of an English-language newspaper is, by definition, a cross-cultural experience.’
Coming Ashore

Coming Ashore

“Tranquilo, que ya llegaste!” (“Stay calm, you made it.”) a bystander (right) says to Cordoba as the officers restrain him Officers try to catch Cordoba and verify that he is…

A Photojournalist in the Middle East — Images and Memories

View photo gallery below »The captions on the accompanying pictures are undated. I believe that certain images, like those in this piece, have a timeless aspect to them — an…

A New Approach to Reaching Young Audiences

Journalists offer well-told stories to teenagers — tailoring the content to suit their reading appetites and enticing them to perhaps find their way to news reporting.

Immigration to El Norte: Eight Stories of Hope and Peril

An Essay in Words and Photographs

Documenting Migration’s Revolving Door

An Essay in Words and Photographs

The Work of the Undocumented

Photos and captions by Hector Amezcua/The Sacramento Bee.Just minutes after they rolled out of bed and off the motel floors at 3 a.m., Central Valley Forestry workers got a little…

Ethical Dilemmas in Telling Enrique’s Story

A reporter talks about the limits of intervening in risky situations and whether to fully identify vulnerable sources.

Partnership and Perseverance Result in a Story Rarely Told

Though news coverage of illegal immigration often lacks the essential voices and images of migrant workers, journalists at The Sacramento Bee included both.

Rescue and Death Along the Border

Photos and captions by Pat Shannahan/The Arizona Republic. Photos printed with permission.Border Patrol Search Trauma and Rescue [Borstar] agent Lance Dehler helps walk Nageli Contreras to safety after rescuing her…

Death in the Desert

The Arizona Republic started tracking undocumented immigrant deaths in 2003 using medical examiner, foreign consulate, and law enforcement reports. Susan Carroll wrote the following words to introduce a published list…

Reporting on the Deaths of Those Who Make the Journey North

‘With the mounting anti-illegal immigration backlash, readers have complained more and more about the stories we do about the deaths.’

A Visual Telling of Immigrants’ Stories

Reporters, photographers and videographers combined their skills to create a multimedia presentation with content unique to the online experience.

The Tribune’s Stories Reach a Spanish-Speaking Audience

Using corporate synergy, ‘Crossing Borders’ gets picked up by Hoy newspapers, and Hispanic readers begin to discuss illegal immigration online.

Immigrants Grapple With Man and ‘The Beast’

Photos and captions by Heather Stone/Chicago Tribune.Daisy Méndez Mendoza of Honduras cries as she describes how she was raped three years ago on her first trip across the border between…

Shrinking Space, Tight Budgets — And a Story Needing to Be Told

‘Despite the necessity to trim back on our ambition, we held tight to our vision of sharing the emotion of these women's stories with our readers.’

The Long Journey Captured in Single Moments

A project about women's global migration found a home in many different media within the Tribune Company.

On Ways of the Road

RELATED ARTICLESAlso by Sonia Nazario– “Ethical Dilemmas in Telling Enrique’s Story”– “Preparing for the Journey”– “On the Narrative Approach”I carried very little money on me, and I never brought the cell…