ISSUE

Spring 2004

Stories About Campaign Coverage

In his essay “Only a Lunatic Would Do This Kind of Work,” David M. Shribman, executive editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, captures the essence of what motivates political journalists. “They have an ethos,” Shribman writes. “They believe in inquiry. They believe in the value of the pointed question. They believe in catching their prey in an unscripted moment or in a lie. They believe in asking impertinent questions of their social betters. They believe small deviations from a candidate’s basic stump speech have grave implications.” – Melissa Ludtke, Editor

Articles

Politics

Shoe Leather Beats BlackBerries

Too much time is spent with candidates, not enough learning from voters.

International Journalism

‘The Unbearable Heaviness of Industry’

‘In China, the road to full industrialization is gradually but surely unveiling itself.’

Politics Technology

The Internet Beat on the Campaign Trail

‘Political journalists are using Web sites to tell stories they didn’t have room to tell in their newspapers.’

James W. Pindell

International Journalism

Spring 2004: International Journalism Introduction

During the most turbulent years in China’s recent history, photojournalist Li Zhensheng documented the “human tragedies and personal foibles” of the Cultural Revolution and its aftermath for the Heilongjiang Daily…

Books

The Idea of Educating Journalists

Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism travels a long, bumpy road to approach its founder’s vision.

Jeffrey Scheuer

Politics

Spring 2004: Reporting from the Campaign Trail Introduction

In his essay “Only a Lunatic Would Do This Kind of Work,” David M. Shribman, executive editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, captures the essence of what motivates political journalists. “They…

Politics

Tracking Generational Change in Political Reporting

Displacing news reporting with analysis provides ‘the possibility of a far different sort of bias than coziness with a candidate.’

From the Curator

Thinking About Storytelling and Narrative Journalism

At a seminar with Robert Coles, the topic is stories and how they are best told.

Opinion

‘It Felt Like Slow-Motion Robbery’

On January 21st, officers of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) searched the Toronto home of Juliet O’Neill, a reporter with the Ottawa Citizen. They also searched her desk at…

Juliet O’Neill

Nieman Notes

Reflecting the Floating City

The magic of networking offers pathways to the real Venice.

Frank Van Riper

Nieman Notes

Elements of a Free Press in Indonesia

When Tom Rosenstiel and I wrote “The Elements of Journalism: What Newspeople Should Know and the Public Should Expect,” we felt pretty confident there would be an interested audience among…

International Journalism

Woman With a Movie Camera

Ning Ying’s cinematic visions document a rapidly changing China.

International Journalism

A Visual and Visceral Connection to the Cultural Revolution

‘Morning Sun’ explores the psychological and emotional topography of Mao’s China.

International Journalism

‘Red-Color News Soldier’

From the mid-1960’s to the early 1980’s, Li Zhensheng, a photojournalist, took thousands of rolls of film for the Heilongjiang Daily, the leading newspaper in Harbin, China. He was able…

Books

Friendships, Feuds and Betrayal in the Newsroom

Arthur Gelb’s memoir reflects on The New York Times’s inner workings.

Robert H. Phelps

Books

Ken Auletta’s ‘Backstory’ Reveals Insights About the Business of News

What happens when the romance of journalism collides with the reality of business?

Everette E. Dennis

Books

Murder Trials and Media Sensationalism

The press frenzy of a century ago echoes in the coverage of trials today.

Opinion

Spring 2004: Words & Reflections Introduction

War and TerrorIn Nieman Reports’s continuing effort to chronicle the various ways in which journalists are approaching coverage of war and terror, John Koopman, a features writer at the San…

Opinion

Visualizing the War on Terror

The book, ‘War,’ offers an impartial look at its realities.

Michael Persson

Opinion

‘Liberty in the Balance’

The Sacramento Bee investigated what’s happening to civil liberties instead of sending reporters to cover the war in Iraq.

Opinion

The Voice of Independent Journalism

‘Political cartoonists push the limits of free speech daily.’

Opinion

Iraq Reporting Becomes a Literary Portrayal of War

His editor said to him: ‘That’s your story. Man’s fascination with war.’

Journalist’s Trade Politics

A Political Reporter’s Toolbox

The Committee of Concerned Journalists suggests campaign coverage strategies based on the advice of veteran political journalists.

The Committee of Concerned Journalists

Politics

Making Reporting About Voting Part of the Political Beat

From punch cards to touchscreens, journalists are tracking potential problems with how people vote.

Politics Technology

Network Web Sites Influence Political Reporting

By compiling coverage and adding original news and analysis, the networks acquire a new niche audience—including political journalists.

Elizabeth Wilner

Politics

For Whom Is Political Coverage Written?

In this new Web era, reporting on a hometown candidate means serving different audiences in print and on the Internet.

Politics

Flapjacks and Photo Ops

Concord Monitor photographers worked hard to bring readers behind the scenes of New Hampshire’s primary campaign.

Politics

When Seeing Is No Longer Believing

Photographers and photo editors have the obligation of accuracy.

Politics

Photographers Try to Avoid Staged Moments

‘Political operatives use increasingly sophisticated techniques to give candidates the most favorable media exposure possible.’

‘Primarily New Hampshire’

Books Politics

‘Primarily New Hampshire’

An upcoming book looks behind the scenes of a presidential primary.

Uncategorized

The “Front” in Libya

Shooting in Libya has been very frustrating because when you’re on the “front” you feel very acutely that it is in no way whatsoever this war’s real front. When the…

Iason Athanasiadis

Photographs From Libya

Uncategorized

Photographs From Libya

RELATED ARTICLE“The ‘Front’ in Libya”– Iason Athanasiadis Anja Niedringhaus is a photographer with The Associated Press. She was a 2007 Nieman Fellow. Libyan rebels retreat as mortars from Muammar Qaddafi’s…

Anja Niedringhaus

Politics

When Old Media Confronted Howard Dean

‘Dean scares the institutional media out of their wits … because of what he and Internet democracy say about them.’

Politics Technology

Going Online, Going Downtown

In two interview situations, a political writer observes differences in reporting.

Politics

Media Access to the Political Process Expands

From bloggers to videojournalists, the digital revolution is transforming how campaigns are covered.

Politics

Why Political Journalism Fails at Handicapping the Race

There is too much focus on campaign tactics, not enough on voters’ concerns.

Books Politics

With Deadlines Past, a Journalist Observes the Coverage

‘There are far too many campaign media people quoted in the copy for my taste.’

Walter R. Mears

Politics

The Political Journalists’ Canon

Political scientists and political journalists share one thing in common—a respect for a body of literature that can be described as a “canon.” These are different canons, to be sure.…

David M. Shribman

Politics

‘Only a Lunatic Would Do This Kind of Work’

A journalist offers his perspective on the perspective of political journalists.

David M. Shribman

Politics Technology

The Allure of the Web

A rookie political reporter retreats from his early reliance on political Web sites and blogs.

Politics

Political Reporting Happens Faster. But Is It Better?

‘… too many of us are forced to react now and reflect later.’

Michael Tackett