ISSUE

Special Issue 1999

The Business of News, The News About Business

This special issue of Nieman Reports has been created to report to the readers of Nieman Reports, to members of the Committee of Concerned Journalists, and to newspaper and broadcast communities on two recent reports, as well as to share relevant insights from other Committee members.

A joint project of the Nieman Foundation and the Committee of Concerned Journalists.

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Articles

Journalist’s Trade

Excerpt From Remarks

Big companies are like battleships going down the middle of a gulf. When we fire our guns they’re pretty loud, but we don’t change direction very well.It’s the size of…
David Corvo
June 15, 1999
Journalist’s Trade

Excerpt From Remarks

In 1978, ABC started a program called “20/20,” as a kind of a standard newsmagazine program. They were trying to see what they could do in the “60 Minutes” business.…
Richard Reeves
June 15, 1999
Journalist’s Trade

Excerpt From Speech

We celebrate tonight the men and women whose dedication to the collection and distribution of facts threatens their very existence. When they antagonize those with money, political power and guns,…
Ted Koppel
June 15, 1999
Journalist’s Trade

The Transformation of Network News

How Profitability Has Moved Networks Out of Hard News
Marc Gunther
June 15, 1999
Opinion

Essay

The separation of business and news is only about 100 years old. In 1800 the most common name for an American newspaper was The Advertiser. Take that literally. Not advertising…
Jim Carey
June 15, 1999
Opinion

Excerpt From Remarks

Before you can discuss what might be done [with newspapers] you have to look at the business proposition that you’re dealing with…. The people who own these journalistic institutions, by…
Ken Auletta
June 15, 1999
Journalist’s Trade

Newspapers Arrive at Economic Crossroads

Which Way They Go Could Depend on What Journalists Know and How They React
Lou Ureneck
June 15, 1999
Opinion

Excerpt From Remarks

There has been more than a little talk lately about how well the editorial and business sides of journalism work together. Since I am at least in part the cause…
Mark Willes
June 15, 1999
Opinion

Essay

“The chief business of the American people is business.” So it was back in 1925 when President Calvin Coolidge offered that now famous aphorism about America’s fevered, overreaching economy in…
Maxwell King
June 15, 1999
Opinion

Essay

Once upon a time the editor of a daily newspaper edited.There’s little risk of that happening now. The top newsroom manager probably has a title like vice president and executive…
Jim Naughton
June 15, 1999
Opinion

Excerpt From Letter

… It is my utter conviction that newspapers are a business and, since their production is a team process, no department can be immune from the fact. They are expensive…
Stuart Garner
June 15, 1999
From the Curator

Looking Inside the Business of Journalism

Economic Pressures Create New Challenges for Journalists
Bill Kovach
June 15, 1999
Opinion

Special Issue 1999: Introduction

This special issue of Nieman Reports has been created to report to the readers of Nieman Reports, to members of the Committee of Concerned Journalists, and to newspaper and broadcast…
March 4, 1999