ISSUE

Spring 2007

Afghanistan: Stories Come Back Into View

I feel sad that Afghanistan is back in the news. … Afghanistan was never going to become Sweden, but had the world really been committed to rebuilding it after 2001, and not been distracted by Iraq, then the return of Western journalists to report again on another war might never have been necessary.

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Articles

International Journalism

Photo Gallery: Gulbuddin Elham

I was forced to postpone my studies at Kabul University’s school of journalism during the Taliban era. Now I am 30 years old, and I have three children. I chose…
Gulbuddin Elham
March 15, 2007
International Journalism

Photo Gallery

I learned photography in my father’s studio in Kabul. Under Taliban rule I was arrested five times for "photograph related crimes" and for cutting my beard. I taught the first…
Fardin Waezi
March 15, 2007
International Journalism

Photo Gallery: Safya Saify

I started a photography career in my university course of social science, where I focused on projects about women’s issues. The World Bank then offered me a scholarship to study…
Safya Saify
March 15, 2007
International Journalism

Photo Gallery

When I joined Aïna Photo, I was its oldest member (at 40), and I probably still am. I was the only person to successfully film a documentary on the Taliban…
Najibullah Musafer
March 15, 2007
International Journalism

Five Years Later Afghanistan Faces New Threats From an Old Foe

An NPR correspondent who reported on the war in 2001 now finds stories to tell about an enemy who once seemed to be defeated.
Ivan Watson
March 15, 2007
International Journalism

Foreign Reporting: Adding Layers to What Goes in the Notebook

Using the tools of digital media, a reporter and photojournalist create a narrative multimedia account of what's happening in Afghanistan.
Charles M. Sennott
March 15, 2007
International Journalism

The Sights, Sounds and Smells of Afghanistan

A reporter and photographer from a midsized newspaper in Arkansas spent a month in Afghanistan so their readers would know what was happening there.
Bob Wigginton
March 15, 2007
From the Curator

Sixty Years of Nieman Reports—And Still Counting

A look back at the magazine's first issue is a reminder of what has changed and all that remains the same.
Bob Giles
March 15, 2007
Understanding the Threat
Journalist’s Trade

Understanding the Threat

Two infectious disease specialists describe and discuss what the scientific community knows about the avian flu virus H5N1 and how pandemic influenza might emerge.
Marc Lipsitch
March 15, 2007
Journalist’s Trade

Understanding the Risk

To communicate with people about risk, journalists need to better understand how and why people respond in the ways they do to messages they receive about danger. An expert in…
Peter Sandman
March 15, 2007
Journalist’s Trade

The Many Dimensions of the Avian Flu Story

Reporters from the United States, China and Germany discuss how a story about a health issue such as avian flu can be covered competitively, with its web of connections that…
Alan Sipress
March 15, 2007
Journalist’s Trade

Reporting From the Frontlines of the Flu

Reporters and editors discuss how they've covered disaster situations, including those in which people were infected by the H5N1 virus. And they talk about preparations they are making at their…
Christy Feig
March 15, 2007
Journalist’s Trade

Preparing for Pandemic Flu

A man wears a rooster head to publicize bird flu prevention on the streets of Xi’an in China’s Shaanxi Province. March 2006. Photo courtesy of The Associated Press/EyePress. Stephen Prior,…
Various Sources
March 15, 2007
Journalist’s Trade

Preparing for the Crisis

Whether it involves education, law enforcement or public health, preparation for pandemic flu should be underway in every community. Speakers addressed tasks and topics that should be examined by reporters,…
Betty Kirby
March 15, 2007
Journalist’s Trade

Reacting to the Crisis

Much has been learned about how people react and respond to disasters. From these experiences emerge lessons that can guide journalists in understanding better what they can expect to happen…
Dori Reissman
March 15, 2007
Journalist’s Trade

Interaction of Journalists and Sources

What transpired between journalists and sources during past disasters and crises—such as the 2001 anthrax attacks—can illuminate challenges confronting the press as it seeks reliable information from experts. Some lessons…
Bruce Shapiro
March 15, 2007
Journalist’s Trade

Creating a Bookshelf of Valuable Resources

As a media fellow at the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, Maryn McKenna, author of “Beating Back the Devil: On the Front Lines with the Disease Detectives of the Epidemic…
Maryn McKenna
March 15, 2007
Journalist’s Trade

Communicating News of an Outbreak

For those who will bear the responsibility of communicating to journalists during an outbreak of pandemic flu, the preparation comes in the daily exchanges they are having already with reporters…
Dick Thompson
March 15, 2007
Opinion

The War in Iraq and 9/11: Recent Investigative Books

Chandrasekaran, Rajiv, "Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq’s Green Zone" (Knopf). Cockburn, Patrick, "The Occupation: War and Resistance in Iraq" (Verso). DeYoung, Karen, "Soldier: The Life of Colin…
Various Sources
March 15, 2007
International Journalism

On a Perilous Reporting Journey to Southwestern Afghanistan

A Pakistani journalist is held by the Taliban, then faces a challenging trip back to the border with information rarely obtained by reporters.
Syed Saleem Shahzad
March 15, 2007
Journalist’s Trade

Spring 2007: Avian Flu Introduction

"The Next Big Health Crisis—And How to Cover It" brought journalists together with scientists, public health officials, medical experts, academic researchers, law enforcement officers, public policy experts, and Homeland Security…
Melissa Ludtke
March 15, 2007
International Journalism

Spring 2007: Introduction

Caught in a fierce Taliban ambush while traveling last summer with coalition troops in southern Afghanistan, (London) Sunday Times foreign correspondent Christina Lamb writes about her escape from death, her…
Melissa Ludtke
March 15, 2007
International Journalism

Military Barriers Impede a Newspaper’s Investigation

When the Los Angeles Times set out to tell how two Afghans held in U.S. military custody died, its efforts to report the story met resistance at every twist and…
Craig Pyes
March 15, 2007
Nieman Notes

Global Health Fellowships at the Nieman Foundation

In a new and unique collaborative effort, Nieman Fellows devote a year to the study of global health issues, including a reporting trip to a developing nation.
Stefanie Friedhoff
March 15, 2007
Journalist’s Trade

The Terror of Disease

John M. Barry concludes his book, “The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History,” with the following haunting words. There was terror afoot in 1918. The randomness…
John M. Barry
March 15, 2007
Journalist’s Trade

Press Lessons From the 1918 Pandemic Flu

In his book, “The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History,” John M. Barry explains in great detail what happened to people and public institutions, including the…
John M. Barry
March 15, 2007
Nieman Notes

Allister Sparks Laments the Journalistic Decline of the United States—His Lodestar

Allister Sparks, of South Africa, is my closest and dearest friend, although we are thousands of miles apart. We have been friends since we were Niemans together in 1962-63. And…
Saul Friedman
March 15, 2007
International Journalism

Afghans Learn How to Tell Visual Stories

Founded by a photojournalist, a school and photo agency offer Afghans the opportunity to show their country through their eyes.
Travis Beard
March 15, 2007
International Journalism

Laughter and Memories Shared Amid Danger

An interpreter says that if the Taliban fighter ‘found out I worked for foreigners’ — here Qahir ran his finger across his neck — ‘no more questions, I’m slaughtered.’
Renée Montagne
March 15, 2007
Opinion

The War in Iraq and 9/11: Recent Investigative Books

Chandrasekaran, Rajiv, "Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq’s Green Zone" (Knopf). Cockburn, Patrick, "The Occupation: War and Resistance in Iraq" (Verso). DeYoung, Karen, "Soldier: The Life of Colin…
March 15, 2007
Opinion

The War in Iraq and 9/11: Interviews with Journalist Authors

Links to in-depth interviews with journalist authors. We are grateful to the hosts and producers of these various shows for helping us create this unique online database.
March 15, 2007
Opinion

The Book as an Investigative Vehicle for News

A journalist explores why news organizations too often fail ‘to treat the investigative discoveries of the book authors as headline grabbers.’
Steve Weinberg
March 15, 2007
International Journalism

Examining Closely Why an Important Story Is Not

In an excerpt from his upcoming book, journalist Roy Gutman returns to a critical moment in Afghanistan's past to explore the news media's response.
Roy Gutman
March 15, 2007
Photo Gallery: Najibullah Musafer
International Journalism

Photo Gallery: Najibullah Musafer

When I joined Aïna Photo, I was its oldest member (at 40), and I probably still am. I was the only person to successfully film a documentary on the Taliban…
Najibullah Musafer
March 15, 2007
International Journalism

Photo Gallery: Fardin Waezi

I learned photography in my father’s studio in Kabul. Under Taliban rule I was arrested five times for “photograph related crimes” and for cutting my beard. I taught the first…
Fardin Waezi
March 15, 2007
International Journalism

‘Have you ever used a pistol?’

In an excerpt from her July 2, 2006 article in The Sunday Times, Christina Lamb writes about her experience of being caught in a fierce Taliban ambush while traveling with…
Christina Lamb
March 15, 2007
International Journalism

Strategizing to Cover the Afghanistan Story

Reporters’ movements and words were closely watched by certain Taliban officials. Journalists had to figure out ways to get stories out about what was happening while at the same time…
Roy Gutman
March 15, 2007
International Journalism

Aïna Photo Gallery

Introduction by Travis Beard, chief editor of Aïna Photo To see Afghanistan through the eyes of Afghan people is Aïna Photo’s greatest ambition. Aïna Photo is the first Afghan photojournalism…
Fardin Waezi
March 15, 2007
International Journalism

A Dangerous Yet Still Necessary Assignment

I feel sad that Afghanistan is back in the news. ... Afghanistan was never going to become Sweden, but had the world really been committed to rebuilding it after 2001,…
Christina Lamb
March 15, 2007
International Journalism

Uncovering Afghanistan

Cultural traditions have continued to constrain women's lives and voices even five years after the end of Taliban rule.
Pamela Constable
March 15, 2007