ISSUE

Spring 2001

Colombia: The War Against Journalists

Reporting on Colombia’s war is extremely dangerous for journalists. For what they publish and broadcast, reporters are threatened and harassed, kidnapped and beaten, driven into exile and murdered. Only in Algeria have more journalists been murdered during recent years in retaliation for the work they do.

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Articles

International Journalism

Spring 2001: Introduction

Reporting on Colombia’s war is extremely dangerous for journalists. For what they publish and broadcast, reporters are threatened and harassed, kidnapped and beaten, driven into exile and murdered. Only in…
Melissa Ludtke
March 15, 2001
Journalist’s Trade

Spring 2001: Tapping New Sources Introduction

Richard C. Harwood teaches journalists strategies for finding valuable new sources. He describes how perspectives of people from various layers of civic life often go untapped by reporters and how,…
Melissa Ludtke
March 15, 2001
Journalist’s Trade

Spring 2001: Reporting on the Economic Underbelly Introduction

Lynda McDonnell, political editor for the St. Paul Pioneer-Press and former poverty reporter, finds much “ingenious, committed reporting” on the lives of the poor but also sees “missed opportunities.” Why?…
Melissa Ludtke
March 15, 2001
Journalist’s Trade

Spring 2001: “The Elements of Journalism” Introduction

In a seminar with reporters new to Washington beats, Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel, co-authors of “The Elements of Journalism: What Newspeople Should Know and the Public Should Expect” (Crown…
Melissa Ludtke
March 15, 2001
Books

Spring 2001: Book Reviews Introduction

Robert Jensen, a journalism professor at the University of Texas at Austin, reviews “Drive-By Journalism: The Assault on Your Need to Know,” by Arthur Rowse. Anil Padmanabhan, a 2001 Nieman…
Melissa Ludtke
March 15, 2001
Opinion

Spring 2001: Race and Content of News Introduction

In a series of interviews with staff members of network news, former broadcast executive Av Westin uncovered ways in which racial bias impacts decision-making about the content of news. He…
Melissa Ludtke
March 15, 2001
Opinion

Wanted: Diversity of Voice and Experience

The Savannah Morning News creates the Neighborhood Newsroom.
Steve Corrigan
March 15, 2001
Opinion

Let Us Now Praise Good Reporting on Race

A journalism program spotlights and studies the exemplary ingredients of coverage.
Arlene Notoro Morgan
March 15, 2001
Journalist’s Trade

Going Home to Rediscover Appalachia

A reporter tells the story of poverty by looking through a different lens.
Diana Nelson Jones
March 15, 2001
Journalist’s Trade

Carefully Choosing the Images of Poverty

A photographer considers what message images will convey.
Steve Mellon
March 15, 2001
Nieman Notes

A Spirited Force of Creative Change

Diana Thomson’s innovations are embedded in the Nieman Foundation.
Lois Fiore
March 15, 2001
Nieman Notes

An Affair of the Heart

Metro station, Cité, 1981.ParisiansAbbeville Press. 167 Pages. $50.Photographs by Peter Turnley Forwards by Adam Gopnik, Robert Doisneau, and Edouard BoubatWhen I arrived in Paris 26 years ago, at the age…
Peter Turnley
March 15, 2001
Books

Unraveling the Story of Digital Media

A book confronts contentious issues of the new American media.
Anil Padmanabhan
March 15, 2001
Books

American Journalism Is Failing Democracy

An author and critic look in different directions to find solutions.
Robert Jensen
March 15, 2001
Journalist’s Trade

Letting the Voices of Young Women Be Heard

At Teen Voices, real-life experiences are the stuff of which stories are made.
Celina De León
March 15, 2001
Journalist’s Trade

Sources: Have Journalists Ceded Control?

For the public to be well served, transparency is crucial.
Bill Kovach, Tom Rosenstiel
March 15, 2001
Opinion

The Press Missed a Critical Post-Election Day Story in Florida

Charges of voting problems in black communities went largely uninvestigated.
DeWayne Wickham
March 15, 2001
Journalist’s Trade

Extraordinary Stories Emerge out of Daily Lives

At Youth Outlook, diverse voices portray youthful experiences.
Katherine Cowy Kim
March 15, 2001
Journalist’s Trade

Reporting Compelling Stories About Ordinary Teens

‘Pretend you’re an archeologist or an alien recording their world.’
Barbara Walsh
March 15, 2001
Opinion

Changing a Newsroom’s Complexion

In Savannah, a newspaper trains community members to be journalists.
Margaret Bailey
March 15, 2001
Opinion

Opening Windows Gives Readers Unexpected Images

An African-American writer reflects glimpses inside his world.
Angelo B. Henderson
March 15, 2001
Journalist’s Trade

Reporting About Poverty and Race Needs to Change

Yet journalists too often convey only a one-dimensional sense of déjà vu.
Nick Kotz
March 15, 2001
Journalist’s Trade

‘The Price of Prosperity’

Journalists unearth stories beneath the veneer of wealth.
Roland De Wolk
March 15, 2001
Opinion

Race Plays a Decisive Role in News Content

“‘Network Refugees.’ Isn’t that a bit confrontational and risky?” “Not really. It isn’t meant to be. It’s meant to be a declaration of truth; where we come from, why we…
Claudia L. Pryor, Gregory M. Branch
March 15, 2001
Journalist’s Trade

Covering Race, Poverty and Class in the New Gilded Age

“So, what are you working on?” a friend asked me recently as we waited in line to see a movie. I told him about a story I was writing about…
Jonathan Kaufman
March 15, 2001
Journalist’s Trade

Neither Publishers nor Readers Clamor for Stories About the Poor

Even so, the hard work of reporting about poverty has lasting value.
Lynda McDonnell
March 15, 2001
International Journalism

Violence Against Journalists in Colombia

Impunity surrounds these crimes.
Marylene Smeets
March 15, 2001
International Journalism

Frontline Images

All photos by Steve Salisbury.©At left, Colombian Marines patrol the Magdalena River in north central Colombia, one of the country’s most dangerous areas. At right, adolescent girls make up a…
Steve Salisbury
March 15, 2001
International Journalism

Spending Time on the Frontlines of Colombia’s War

Taking personal risks is part of the job of a foreign correspondent.
Linda Robinson
March 15, 2001
International Journalism

The Risks American Journalists Confront in Colombia

Staying safe sometimes collides with aggressively reporting on the war.
Tod Robberson
March 15, 2001
Journalist’s Trade

Creating a Network of Young Reporters

We’re still thinking about saving high-school newspapers. But, if we start now, they might be able to save us.
Laurie Becklund
March 15, 2001
Journalist’s Trade

Sparking a Passion for Journalism in High School

A journalism association works to strengthen a tenuous but invaluable resource.
Diana Mitsu Klos
March 15, 2001
Opinion

You’ve Got to ‘Be Carefully Taught’

Decision-making in TV newsrooms too often involves racial criteria.
Av Westin
March 15, 2001
International Journalism

In Colombia, Journalists Have Many Enemies

‘The first and most damning effect is self-censorship.’
Francisco Santos
March 15, 2001
Opinion

Why ‘Mama’s Santos’ was honored by Let’s Do It Better

“Mama is preparing to die. This is nothing new. She started to make these preparations when I was in fourth grade, 34 years ago.”With that opening, Arizona Daily Star reporter…
Arlene Notoro Morgan
March 15, 2001
International Journalism

Colombia’s War Takes Place on a Global Stage

In exposing the roots and connections of violence, journalists risk their lives.
Ignacio G. Gómez
March 15, 2001
Politics

When Incumbents Run in House Races, The Press Stays Home

In Maryland, major news organizations ignored a close congressional race.
Steve Nordlinger
March 15, 2001
Opinion

Let’s Do It Better: 2000 Honorees

Newspapers:Newspaper of the Year—NewsdayFor overall excellence in covering race and ethnicity and for developing a strategy to deal with the paper’s demographic challenge. Gabriel Escobar, city editor, The Washington Post…
March 15, 2001
Diversity

Linking Content and Credibility to Newsroom Diversity

The Maynard Institute’s ‘Reality Checks’ seminar explores enduring Fault Lines.
Erna Smith
March 15, 2001
Journalist’s Trade

Freedom of the Press Stops at the Schoolhouse Gate

The consequences of student press censorship could be devastating.
Mark Goodman
March 15, 2001
International Journalism

Truth in the Crossfire

In a brutal attack, ‘my truth…was dealt a mortal wound.’
Jineth Bedoya Lima
March 15, 2001
International Journalism

Journalists Murdered, Attacked, Kidnapped and Threatened in Colombia

Between 1986 and 1995, 43 journalists were murdered in Colombia, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which suspects this number is an underestimate since many reported murders of…
March 15, 2001
Journalist’s Trade

Forgotten Stories About Forgotten People

‘Journalists could do a much better job reminding us of who we are supposed to be.’
Peter Edelman
March 15, 2001
Journalist’s Trade

Finding a Path to Cross a Racial Divide

Reporters began to listen rather than assume they knew what the story was.
Kathy Spurlock
March 15, 2001
International Journalism

Can What Ails Colombia Be Fixed?

As the war intensifies and U.S. money is sent, the story hits Page One.
Linda Robinson
March 15, 2001
Politics

Spring 2001: Political Journalism Introduction

Steve Nordlinger, a former reporter and editor at The (Baltimore) Sun, uses a Maryland example to illustrate how the media all but ignore coverage of Congressional races when incumbents run.
Melissa Ludtke
March 15, 2001
Journalist’s Trade

Spring 2001: Youth Journalism Introduction

Mark Goodman, director of the Student Press Law Center, laments the lessons about journalism and the First Amendment that young people are learning as adults censor what they write. “Professionals…
Melissa Ludtke
March 15, 2001
From the Curator

Universities Teach Journalists Valuable Lessons

Specialized knowledge is gained, and questions beget more questions.
Bob Giles
March 15, 2001
Journalist’s Trade

Looking for Stories in All the ‘Third Places’

In Detroit, reporters use civic mapping to find new stories and sources.
John X. Miller
March 15, 2001
Journalist’s Trade

Civic Mapping Can Ignite a Reporter’s Curiosity

At The San Diego Union-Tribune, community experiences become stories.
Karen Lin Clark
March 15, 2001
Journalist’s Trade

Understanding the Community’s Civic Life

Journalists’ tools include new questions and different sources.
Richard Harwood
March 15, 2001
Journalist’s Trade

These Pictures Are Not About the Photographer

The camera documents humanity behind forgotten façades.
Harvey Wang
March 15, 2001
Journalist’s Trade

Filling a Void Left By Mainstream Media

Young temporary workers in Silicon Valley write out of their own experience.
Raj Jayadev
March 15, 2001