Nieman Reports

Spring 1999

Educating Journalists

In asking young journalists to write about their experiences, what we wanted to provide was a forum in which they could express their views, concerns and ideas about the way in which journalism is practiced today. What we found as their articles arrived is that these young journalists raise questions that are relevant for seasoned journalists to ponder. As one correspondent writes: “I know in the future…I’ll take opportunities to listen to interns and recent college graduates who other folks in the newsroom might dismiss as starry-eyed idealists. I hope that listening to their perspectives will help me remember why I chose to become a journalist in the first place.”

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Voices and Experiences of Young Journalists

Spring 1999: Introduction

By Melissa Ludtke• Features• March 15, 1999

Stitching a Community Together With A Newspaper Staffed by Young Journalists

By Brandon Tubbs• Opinion• March 15, 1999

Brandon Tubbs working as a mentor to a student from the PACERS Cooperative. © Photo courtesy PACERS Photography, Program for Rural Services and Research. Shawn “Sham” Franks, a sophomore at Oakman … Read more

Restoring a Sense of What It Means To Be a Journalist

By Robin Jones• Opinion• March 15, 1999

Most people instinctively want to teach others what they know. And journalists are no exception. It is our job, after all, to share with our readers, viewers and listeners what we discover in the course of our reporting. But many … Read more

When Mediocrity Beckons

By William Brent Cunningham• Opinion• March 15, 1999

A newsroom for journalism students. Photo courtesy Medill School of Journalism. Most of us know the frustration of desire outpacing ability. But what about coping with the reverse? What happens if you decide … Read more

Falling in Love With Words and How Journalists Use Them

By Kathryn S. Wenner• Opinion• March 15, 1999

I don’t particularly like thinking about what I might do after I earn my master’s degree in journalism. J-school, for all the work and worry, is more fun than any job I’ve ever had. It feels like a great indulgence. Read more

Teaching Journalism by Adhering to Unchanging Standards

By Nancy Day• Journalist’s Trade• March 15, 1999

Pages from Gene Graham’s Nieman year sketchbook. Confession: I actually went to journalism school. And now I teach in one. But I’ve also spent plenty of time in newsrooms, a dual perspective critical … Read more

Using the Realities of the Newsroom To Train Journalists

By Helen Ubinas• Opinion• March 15, 1999

For two days in late September, Bebe sold the crack cocaine rocks known as “Cookies” in the pouring rain—cold and alone. While other kids were in school that morning, Bebe spent his day … Read more

On-Line Journalism: Frustrations Along the Road to the Future

By Stephen Borelli• Features• March 15, 1999

I knocked on the coach’s office door in the visitor’s clubhouse at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. “Come in,” said Stump Merrill, the gruff manager of the Columbus (Ohio) “While in the minds of many … Read more

Riding the Digital Wave Into Journalism

By Stephen D. Isaacs• Opinion• March 15, 1999

Is It the Best Wave for Students to Catch? Read more

Are Minorities Getting a Fair Shot At Journalism Jobs?

By Carolyn Toll Oppenheim• Diversity• March 15, 1999

The Answer is “No”: Now What Can be Done? Read more

The Education Beat: Dynamic Changes in How Schools Are Covered

Spring 1999: The Education Beat Introduction

By Melissa Ludtke• Journalist’s Trade• March 15, 1999

In education, it’s the era of accountability. Teachers are tested to measure their ability to instruct. Students take standardized tests to find out what they have learned and where they rank compared with others. Controversy and debate swirl around the … Read more

Using Education Data to Build A Story’s Foundation

By Carol Napolitano• Journalist’s Trade• March 15, 1999

Parents assist children in a fourth grade math class. Photo by Bill Batson, The Omaha World-Herald. For at least a decade before The Omaha World-Herald published its five-part series “The Learning Gap,” … Read more

A Newspaper’s Report Cards Offer Revealing Insights into How Well Schools are Doing

By Connie Langland and Neill A. Borowski• Journalist’s Trade• March 15, 1999

Parents stand up to speak at school board meetings, clutching a copy of the newspaper. The dog-eared newsprint is the source of research that buttresses their comments. School officials pore over the newspaper, looking for academic trends in other districts … Read more

Using Education Data Effectively

By Sarah Cohen• Journalist’s Trade• March 15, 1999

After two years of traveling the country working with reporters and editors on computer-assisted reporting techniques, it was clear that no story invokes more fear than the dreaded annual school report. Editors know educators will “The newspaper’s or station’s … Read more

The Price of Hope: Investigating Disparities Among Rich and Poor Schools

By Debbie Cenziper and Ted Mellnik• Journalist’s Trade• March 15, 1999

Photo by Diedra Laird, The Charlotte Observer. For years, parents and educators in poverty-ridden pockets of the South sensed the public schools were shortchanging their children. And they were right. Their schools face … Read more

The Learning Gap: Highlighting Teachers’ Competency

By Linda J. Johnson• Journalist’s Trade• March 15, 1999

Photo by Michelle Patterson, The Lexington Herald-Leader. Education writers often try to measure the success of their local schools by analyzing such things as test scores, class sizes and poverty rates. But … Read more

A Dual-Track Approach to Tackling The Topic of Reading

By David Lauter• Journalist’s Trade• March 15, 1999

Reporting the Story and Pitching in to Fix the Problem Read more

By Being There, a Reporter Captures a Rare View of Middle School

By Jolayne Houtz• Journalist’s Trade• March 15, 1999

Ten young teens draped themselves over chairs, forming a sloppy circle in the center of an empty middle-school classroom. I sat on the edge of the circle, an outsider looking in on an extraordinary preadolescent confessional. “OK, clean time. How … Read more

Nieman Reports

Spring 1999

Educating Journalists

Voices and Experiences of Young Journalists

The Education Beat: Dynamic Changes in How Schools Are Covered

International Journalism

By Melissa Ludtke

By Peter Stein

By Brant Houston

By Maud S. Beelman

By Christopher Simpson

Books

By Melissa Ludtke

By Deborah Amos

By Murray Seeger

By Roy Gutman

By Orville Schell

By Athan G. Theoharis

By Joseph Williams

By Ray Scherer

By Tom Witosky

Curator's Corner

By Bill Kovach

Nieman Notes

By Chris Bowman

By Steven Rubin

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