ISSUE

Spring 2020

Covering the Coronavirus

As the world continues to grapple with the health, social, and financial implications of the coronavirus pandemic, journalists have responded to the unprecedented challenge of covering a crisis that has left few people’s lives untouched — all while their own lives, and livelihoods, have been upended. COVID-19 has dealt a devastating blow to newsrooms, forcing journalists — if they’re still employed, that is — to work remotely as the already-enfeebled local journalism industry struggles to survive amidst gutted local advertising, events, and other challenges. How are journalists and news organizations responding to the coronavirus pandemic? Nieman Reports takes a look at how the pandemic is being covered around the world, how this public health crisis is highlighting the crucial rule of local news, and more.

Articles

Nieman Isn’t Waiting for the Coronavirus to Grant Permission to Do Our Work

From the Curator

Nieman Isn’t Waiting for the Coronavirus to Grant Permission to Do Our Work

Goenawan Mohamad, the Indonesian journalist and poet, had considerable impact on the members of my Nieman class. His parents had suffered exile to an internment camp; his father was later…

Ann Marie Lipinski

Without a Campaign to Cover, Reporters Shift to Covering the Voting Process Itself

Politics Threats to U.S. Democracy

Without a Campaign to Cover, Reporters Shift to Covering the Voting Process Itself

As Patrick Marley moved down the queue of voters lined up near a high school in Madison, some of his interviewees had to shout. Six feet apart is not ideal…

Casey Quackenbush

4 Ways to Fund — and Save — Local Journalism

Features

4 Ways to Fund — and Save — Local Journalism

On April 3, Mandy Jenkins paused from her work as general manager of The Compass Experiment — a partnership between Google and McClatchy to explore new business models for local…

Sounding

“Privilege the voices”: NPR’s Carrie Johnson on the power of active listening

I spent my childhood in a tiny pink house in suburban Chicago, surrounded by noise. The television blared theme songs from my grandmother’s soap operas. My grandfather’s fire department scanner…

Deep Listening Project Helps Milwaukee Reflect on Democracy

Journalist’s Trade

Deep Listening Project Helps Milwaukee Reflect on Democracy

Cutting through the noise, “This is Milwaukee” explores citizenship and community representation

Mary Louise Schumacher

As Europe Confronts Coronavirus, the Media Faces a Trust Test

Features

As Europe Confronts Coronavirus, the Media Faces a Trust Test

One way to think about the coronavirus pandemic is as a large-scale process of sorting out what is essential. That is true on a personal level, but it’s also true…

Mattia Ferraresi

Three Ways To Counter Authoritarian Overreach During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Opinion

Three Ways To Counter Authoritarian Overreach During the Coronavirus Pandemic

As the world grapples with the spread of Covid-19, we see a wide range of individual national responses to the pandemic. Different countries around the world are seeking to both…

Brian Friedberg

Speculative Journalism Can Help Us Prepare for What’s to Come. Could It Also Promote Misinformation?

Features

Speculative Journalism Can Help Us Prepare for What’s to Come. Could It Also Promote Misinformation?

Back in early 2019, nearly a year before the coronavirus outbreak began to dominate headlines, the team at the “Science Vs” podcast was hard at work on an episode aptly…

Vote and Die: Covering Voter Suppression during the Coronavirus Pandemic

Opinion Politics

Vote and Die: Covering Voter Suppression during the Coronavirus Pandemic

On April 7, 2020 a new slogan began circulating on Twitter during the Wisconsin Democratic primary: “Vote and Die.” The slogan is a play on “Vote or Die,” a 2004…

Brian Friedberg

Government Funding Should Support Innovation, Not Prop Up Dying Business Models

Opinion

Government Funding Should Support Innovation, Not Prop Up Dying Business Models

Denmark is known as a prototypical welfare state, and the country reacted as such from the moment the corona crisis emerged in Europe—with top-down and far-reaching measures from the central…

What Role Should Newsrooms Play in Debunking COVID-19 Misinformation?

Opinion

What Role Should Newsrooms Play in Debunking COVID-19 Misinformation?

Over the past few days in the U.K., at least three cellphone masts have been set on fire, and telecoms engineers trying to keep the network stable have faced attacks…

The Threat—and Opportunity—COVID-19 Brings to Hungary’s Embattled Journalists

Opinion

The Threat—and Opportunity—COVID-19 Brings to Hungary’s Embattled Journalists

Journalists have had a rough decade in Hungary under prime minister Viktor Orbán’s increasingly authoritarian rule. Now, the coronavirus crisis may make it even harder for independent news outlets to…

Journalism and Prediction during the Coronavirus Pandemic

Opinion

Journalism and Prediction during the Coronavirus Pandemic

In the normal course of human affairs, journalism is the first rough draft of history.In a pandemic, however, journalism is the first rough draft of the future.We are all sitting…