ISSUE

Summer 2002

Reporting on Business: Enron and Beyond

Enron’s extraordinary collapse leapt into public view with banner headlines befitting the precipitous fall of a once mighty power. This was a company that not too long before its demise had been the business media’s poster child, praised for its “innovative” practices and consistently listed among the top American corporations. During these heady times, only a few reporters followed leads that eventually took readers past the media’s mostly laudatory words and into the reality of a company whose foundation was crumbling. – Melissa Ludtke, Editor

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Articles

Watchdog

Brainstorming Questions

Asking questions is ‘such a supremely human endeavor.’
June 15, 2002
Watchdog

Good Questions Emerge Out of Good Information

Preparation and persistence are key ingredients for successful interviews.
M.L. Stein
June 15, 2002
Watchdog

Important Questions Happen Before Reporting Begins

‘Once we got that question in our minds, all of a sudden everything fell into place.’
June 15, 2002
Watchdog

Digging Where Journalists Don’t Dig

‘…it’s not what question we ask. It’s the fact that we ask at all.’
June 15, 2002
Journalist’s Trade

Future Possibilities

Walter Bender is the executive director of the MIT Media Lab, where he directs the Electronic Publishing Group and is a member of the laboratory’s News in the Future consortium.…
June 15, 2002
Journalist’s Trade

Alerting the Public to Journalism’s Challenges

Should news organizations look for ways to better communicate their business stories to their readers, as well as to other members of the public? And, if so, how do they…
June 15, 2002
Journalist’s Trade

How to Reach Wall Street With a Different Message

Two books hint at how and why this can and should be done.
Philip Meyer
June 15, 2002
Journalist’s Trade

The Tug of Wall Street

Few words were uttered more often during this conference than “Wall Street.” What follows are edited excerpts from various sessions, all of which focus attention on the tug that Wall…
June 15, 2002
Journalist’s Trade

What Does Quality Mean?

Quality can be an elusive term. It is one that conference participants struggled to explain, define and find ways to put into practice. What follows are edited excerpts that speak…
June 15, 2002
Journalist’s Trade

The Newspaper Business: Now and in the Years Ahead

No topic received as much attention as the newspaper business. Observations were interspersed throughout the various sessions. Some of those comments are now brought together in a series of edited…
June 15, 2002
Journalist’s Trade

Internet Interactions

Participants had views and experiences to share about the intersection of mainstream media and the Internet. Edited excerpts of some of those comments follow.RELATED ARTICLE“Web Sites Increasingly Scoop Their Parent…
June 15, 2002
Journalist’s Trade

Newspapers and the Internet

Clark Gilbert, an assistant professor at the Harvard Business School, studies entrepreneurship in large companies. In a recent study in which he worked with Clay Christensen, who has written about…
Clark Gilbert
June 15, 2002
Journalist’s Trade

News Innovation and Leadership

Photo from the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.Photo from the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.Photo from the National Archives and Records Administration.Rosabeth Moss Kanter, the Ernest…
June 15, 2002
Journalist’s Trade

Summer 2002: Introduction

In October 2001, journalists, publishers, professors and media and stock analysts met for two days at Harvard University to discuss varying approaches to paying for the reporting and distribution of…
Melissa Ludtke
June 15, 2002
Journalist’s Trade

The Change Journey: The Pacesetters

Rosabeth Moss Kanter described the pacesetters as being “ahead of change.” By responding early to technological changes, these companies captured “more benefits of change” and often spent less in getting…
Rosabeth Moss Kanter
June 15, 2002
Journalist’s Trade

The Change Journey: The Laggards

Rosabeth Moss Kanter described the laggards as being “behind the competition” and having “more internal struggles about change.” And when they did bring in new technology “it cost them more,…
Rosabeth Moss Kanter
June 15, 2002
Watchdog

Questions Help to Hold People in Power Accountable

In response to the journalists’ observations, Dan Rothstein described how the process has worked for others who are not so accustomed to asking questions. He reminded reporters of the vital…
Dan Rothstein
June 15, 2002
Watchdog

Summer 2002: Watchdog Conference Introduction

At the Nieman Foundation’s fourth Watchdog Project Conference, held in the fall of 2001 at Harvard University, the topic was “How to Ask Probing Questions.” The Watchdog Project was established…
Melissa Ludtke
June 15, 2002
Journalist’s Trade

Technology Builds Context

Walter Bender shared an example of how technology can enhance a person’s understanding of the content of news stories by providing context.Sara Elo, who was a student from Finland, got…
Walter Bender
June 15, 2002
Watchdog

Freedom of Information Under Attack

In the name of ‘homeland security,’ the work of journalists is made harder.
Charles Lewis
June 15, 2002
Journalist’s Trade

Web Sites Increasingly Scoop Their Parent News Outlets for Content

The eighth annual Middleberg/Ross Media Survey shows an especially marked increase this year in Web site scooping of parent news outlets, although methodological issues in the survey may have partly…
June 15, 2002
Uncategorized

The Watchdog Role Business Reporters Need to Play

Journalists who cover business must prepare themselves for the job.
Glenn S. Lewin
June 15, 2002
Uncategorized

Making the Enron Story an Engaging Visual Experience

‘If you’re going to use tomfoolery, you’d better know what you’re talking about.’
Paul Solman
June 15, 2002
Uncategorized

Corporations Work Hard to Prevent Reporting

When intimidation doesn’t work, other methods are used.
James McNair
June 15, 2002
Journalist’s Trade

Experiences With Internet Journalism

Several journalists who have been involved with Internet journalism sites shared their experiences with the participants, some of whom also had ideas and questions about how publications and cyberspace might…
June 15, 2002
Journalist’s Trade

News in the Land of the Giants

After many years as a TV news reporter and producer, Tom Wolzien has for the past 10 years provided financial research on large publicly traded media companies to institutional investors…
June 15, 2002
Nieman Notes

Dwight Emerson Sargent: A Remembrance

Nieman Curator from 1964 to 1973, he died on April 4 at the age of 85.
Ray Jenkins
June 15, 2002
Uncategorized

Money Makes Headlines in Today’s News Coverage

‘A creeping indifference and a silent hollowing out.’
Norman Solomon
June 15, 2002
Nieman Notes

Revitalizing High School Newspapers

Putting out their newspapers, students learn how to stand up for their beliefs.
Athelia Knight
June 15, 2002
Journalist’s Trade

In Defense of Journalism as a Public Trust

In March, journalists from 24 countries and the European Union at the Salzburg Seminar in Austria discussed the impact market pressures are having on the quality of journalism. At the…
June 15, 2002
Uncategorized

Not Every Journalist ‘Missed’ the Enron Story

Reporters at The Wall Street Journal detailed the corrupt practices that led to Enron’s demise.
Paul E. Steiger
June 15, 2002
From the Curator

Discovering What Constitutes Fairness in Newspaper Reporting

The Taylor Award unearthed lessons about how journalists convey fairness.
Bob Giles
June 15, 2002
Uncategorized

A Good Story Isn’t Always the Right One to Tell

‘Enron was merely the manifestation of a broad failure on the part of the financial media.’
Jeffrey Madrick
June 15, 2002
Journalist’s Trade

Societal Influence Model for the Newspaper Industry

Creating a Different Message About QualityPhilip Meyer, a journalism professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and former reporter and market researcher for Knight Ridder, is working…
June 15, 2002
Journalist’s Trade

Should Newspapers Offer Internet Access?

Why would the family owners of a small rural newspaper group in Tennessee have chosen to enter the Internet access business in the mid-1990’s? There were several reasons, but uppermost…
Gregg K. Jones
June 15, 2002
Uncategorized

Economics and Business Journalism in Africa

Daunting issues challenge high quality reporting, but new initiatives support the determination of journalists to succeed.
Nixon Kariithi
June 15, 2002
International Journalism

Summer 2002: Journalism in Asia Introduction

In Southeast Asia, journalists’ experiences vary considerably. In some, repressive regimes clamp down hard on press freedoms through the passage of restrictive laws, the practice of intimidation, and the control…
Melissa Ludtke
June 15, 2002
Uncategorized

The Birth of ‘The Outraged Investor’

A reporter assumes the watchdog role for ‘the little guy.’
Martha Smilgis
June 15, 2002
International Journalism

Thai Journalists Fight an Unexpected Revival of Press Restrictions

Reporters are targeted. Advertising is pulled. And promised reforms are halted.
Suthichai Yoon
June 15, 2002
International Journalism

Journalists Confront New Pressures in Indonesia

In an era of press freedom, the quality of journalism is a concern.
Andreas Harsono
June 15, 2002
International Journalism

Cambodia’s Newspapers Emerge From a Repressive Era

Lacking international pressure, radio and television in Cambodia remain under state control.
A. Lin Neumann
June 15, 2002
Uncategorized

Moving Toward the Mainstream

Economics and business reporting has increased in quantity and improved in quality.
Robert J. Samuelson
June 15, 2002
International Journalism

Free Enterprise but Not Freedom of the Press

In Vietnam, self-censorship and government scrutiny muffle journalists.
David Lamb
June 15, 2002
International Journalism

In Burma, a Repressive Regime Controls the Press

Burmese reporters require ‘great courage to adhere to the principles of journalism.’
Aung Zaw
June 15, 2002
Uncategorized

Looking for Answers in the Enron Story

‘Start with a pretty straightforward question.’
Peter Behr
June 15, 2002
International Journalism

Virtual Democracy in Malaysia

‘…the Internet has helped put press freedom on the front burner.’
Steven Gan
June 15, 2002
International Journalism

Southeast Asia’s Electronically Charged Media Revolution

The author of ‘Electronic Tigers of Southeast Asia’ describes how media technology affects government and the press.
Drew McDaniel
June 15, 2002
New Media Played a Role in the People’s Uprising
International Journalism

New Media Played a Role in the People’s Uprising

Alternative forms of communication forced mainstream media to do their job.
Sheila S. Coronel
June 15, 2002
International Journalism

Southeast Asian Media Struggle to be Free

Many journalists confront intimidation and government control but for some more freedom brings awareness of the need for better investigative skills.
Kavi Chongkittavorn
June 15, 2002
Features

Summer 2002: Introduction

Journalism is on a fast-paced, transformative journey, its destination still unknown. That the Web and other media technologies are affecting mightily the practice of journalism is beyond dispute. Less clear…
Melissa Ludtke
June 15, 2002