ISSUE

Spring 2012

What Would You Change If You Were Back In Charge

Looking back what would they do differently? Six editors take a hard look at newspapers and what it will take for them to stay alive. More investigative journalism, more training, and an embrace of digital initiatives are among the priorities they’d have if they were back in charge. What resonates throughout their essays is the need for coverage that helps citizens and democracy thrive.

Download PDF

Articles

Drawing History Into Today's News
Visual Journalism

Drawing History Into Today’s News

During his presentation at the Nieman Foundation, Sacco showed some of the photos he took in the Gaza Strip. Photo by Lisa Abitbol.When Joe Sacco and Chris Hedges traveled to…
Jonathan Seitz
March 28, 2012
Features

Turn the Newsroom Inside Out

‘The goal would be to enlist the public in expanding local sports and photography while reducing the role of professional journalists in these areas.’
Mike Pride
March 22, 2012
Opinion

The Jukebox in My Mind

The playlist in East Africa is full of surprises.
Gwen Thompkins
March 21, 2012
Books

Facing Putin

Masha Gessen on the Russian leader's totalitarian regime and the weaknesses of U.S. media coverage of her country.
Jonathan Seitz
March 20, 2012
Books

Facing Putin (Extended Interview)

Masha Gessen on the Russian leader's totalitarian regime and the weaknesses of U.S. media coverage of her country.
Jonathan Seitz
March 20, 2012
Features

Community Outreach and The Los Angeles Times

‘The Los Angeles Times is still uniquely positioned to fill a huge public need—aggressive coverage of California, a state with problems that equal its heft, a state hit particularly hard…
James O’Shea
March 19, 2012
Features

Global Health: A Story Rarely Told

‘Today while billions of dollars [in aid] are lost to corruption and dysfunction — and billions more save many lives — both traditional and new media are too often missing…
Stefanie Friedhoff
March 19, 2012
Opinion

Dispatches From a World of Opportunity

Face to Face With ‘False Necessities’“If I were to sum up what I have learned, what has changed me, from the nine courses I took and the 62 seminars or…
March 19, 2012
End Note: The Fine Art of Reinvention
Visual Journalism

End Note: The Fine Art of Reinvention

An invitation to lead a photo tour of Venice is a turning point.
Frank Van Riper
March 19, 2012
Live @ Lippmann

Ann Curry Speaks of Trauma and Promise in 31st Morris Lecture

Ann Curry, a “Today” co-anchor, talked about some of the foreign stories she has reported that have mattered most to her. Photo by Lisa Abitbol.“Why do we do it?”Ann Curry…
Jonathan Seitz
March 19, 2012
Journalist’s Trade

The Wide Web of Innovation

In chronicling the evolution of news, the Nieman Journalism Lab tracks start-ups, identifies innovations, and shares lessons about how quality journalism can thrive in the Internet age. Not every success…
March 19, 2012
International Journalism

Honoring a Pioneering Journalist from Libya

Mohammed Nabbous, honored posthumously; his widow Samra Naas; and their daughter Mayar. Photo by Lisa Abitbol (right).During the early days of Libya’s revolution, Mohammed “Mo” Nabbous was the first in…
Jan Gardner
March 19, 2012
Books

To Kill a Story

After Chauncey Bailey was murdered, journalists banded together to finish his investigation.
Steve Weinberg
March 19, 2012
Features

Gay Talese: The New York Observer

Gay Talese helped launch literary journalism in 1966 when Esquire published his profile “Frank Sinatra Has a Cold.” He shares his thoughts on the craft.
Paige Williams
March 19, 2012
Common Ground
Features

Common Ground

Anja Niedringhaus has worked on the frontlines of many major conflicts over the past two decades. Here she reflects on work from her new book “At War.”
Anja Niedringhaus
March 19, 2012
‘What Gets Attention, Gets Funded’
Features

‘What Gets Attention, Gets Funded’

RELATED ARTICLE“Global Health: A Story Rarely Told”– Stefanie FriedhoffWhen Samuel Loewenberg, a freelance foreign correspondent, heard in 2009 that 50 percent of children in Guatemala are chronically malnourished, he…
Stefanie Friedhoff
March 19, 2012
Opinion

“Blowing Up the Newsroom” (and Other Thoughts on Survival)

We invited members of the American Society of News Editors to say what one change they’d most like to make to their newspaper. Their answers ranged from a return to…
March 19, 2012
Technology

The Great Young Hope

I wish I could say that revolutionizing newsrooms like the one I left at the Los Angeles Times in January 2008 is all that’s needed to change the fortunes of…
James O’Shea
March 19, 2012
Opinion

Empty Nest Syndrome

RELATED ARTICLE“Turn the Newsroom Inside Out”– Mike PrideLike any institution, today’s Concord Monitor is captive to past decisions. Just over two decades ago, before cell phones and the Internet were…
Mike Pride
March 19, 2012
Journalist’s Trade Technology

A Bridge to the Future

Instead of printing the paper every day, ‘we would provide to our subscribers an e-reader such as a Kindle or a Nook. This serves the dual purpose of strengthening our…
Timothy A. Franklin
March 19, 2012
Opinion

Speak Loudly, Move Nimbly

‘Lead the community through the newspaper’s strong editorial voice. … Find out what works on the Web for your market, and exploit it.’
Ronnie Agnew
March 19, 2012
Opinion

The Overlooked “People Piece”

‘… the right kind of training will boost morale and reward the news organization with dedicated staffers itching to tackle groundbreaking assignments.’
Skip Perez
March 19, 2012
Opinion

Looking Back, Seeing Today

Between September 2001 and November 2006, I was editor of two Knight Ridder papers, first the Lexington Herald-Leader and then The Philadelphia Inquirer. It was a period of intense turmoil.…
Amanda Bennett
March 19, 2012
From the Curator

Challenging Ideas

Looking back what would they do differently? Six editors take a hard look at newspapers and what it will take for them to stay alive. More investigative journalism, more training,…
Ann Marie Lipinski
March 19, 2012
Nieman Notes

Spring 2012: Class Notes

1950Read his obituary in The Salt Lake Tribune.Hays Gorey, a longtime political correspondent for Time magazine, died at a health care facility in Salt Lake City on April 5th, 2011,…
Jan Gardner
March 15, 2012
Books

Facing Putin

Masha Gessen on the Russian leader’s totalitarian regime and the weaknesses of U.S. media coverage of her country
Jonathan Seitz
March 14, 2012