Nieman Reports

Fall 2011

Cold Case Reporting

Cover for Fall 2011

Cases unheard. Justice denied. These words fit many crimes committed with racial intent a half century ago. Now reporters burrow into forgotten files, locate witnesses, track down suspects, publish what they find—and write for us about their work that in some cases is resulting in justice finally being served. Journalists then explore how stories about black America are told today. Next, our focus turns to news reporting in a time of revolutionary change in Arab nations. Intriguing essays then transport us from Iran to Indonesia, from financial collapse to consensus building, from envisioning computers replacing journalists to reporting from war’s frontlines.

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Cold Case Reporting: Revisiting Racial Crimes

Here’s What People Want to Know: Why Do Journalists Tell These Stories?

By Diversity September 12, 2011

Why is what happened then considered news today? Why stir up memories of events that were long ago put to rest? Hank Klibanoff, author of “The Race Beat” and managing editor of the Civil Rights Cold Case Project, leads off our collection of stories by writing about how people want to know what compels journalists to dig into racial crimes from a distant era. Others involved with this project—and two reporters who covered the civil rights movement—write about the importance of not forgetting. Read more

Reporting on Black America: Who Tells the Stories

Carl Sandburg’s Reporting Foretold the Chicago Race Riots of 1919

By Diversity September 13, 2011

“Diversity fatigue has been alive and well in America's news industry for many years,” writes Milton Coleman, a senior editor at The Washington Post and an organizer of Leadership in Diversity: New Models for Growing Audience, Talent and Revenues, a two-part conference taking place this year. Racial practices in newsrooms disquiet blacks, but discussions about them surface mostly among minority journalists. As black journalists leave mainstream news organizations for websites, issues of financial viability, resources for reporting, and their site’s impact follow them. Read more

Diversity in Newsrooms: Fresh Strategies, New Goals

By Diversity September 13, 2011

“Diversity fatigue has been alive and well in America's news industry for many years,” writes Milton Coleman, a senior editor at The Washington Post and an organizer of Leadership in Diversity: New Models for Growing Audience, Talent and Revenues, a two-part conference taking place this year. Racial practices in newsrooms disquiet blacks, but discussions about them surface mostly among minority journalists. As black journalists leave mainstream news organizations for websites, issues of financial viability, resources for reporting, and their site’s impact follow them. Read more

What Often Goes Unsaid

By Diversity October 3, 2011

The racial dynamic of what happens inside a newsroom is ‘an elusive if contentious subject that seldom rises to become a topic of media forums or workshops—except when minority journalists come together to talk.’ Read more

Arab News: Troubles and Possibilities

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