ISSUE

Summer 2005

Eroding Freedoms: Secrecy, Truth and Sources

Among the casualties of the invasion and occupation of Iraq have been truth and trust, according to Sig Christenson, military affairs writer for the San Antonio Express-News. After working as both an embedded and independent reporter in Iraq, he writes about the “propaganda war within Gulf War II,” explaining that “Its roots are in Ground Zero, and I have been a willing participant. So, too, were many other reporters.”

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Articles

International Journalism

Fear and Self-Censorship in Vladimir Putin’s Russia

‘One bargains with oneself. How much can I sacrifice before I lose respect for myself as a journalist?’
Masha Gessen
June 12, 2009
Opinion

When the Beat Does Not Go On

A longtime journalist reflects on reinventing her life outside of a newsroom.
Huntly Collins
June 23, 2005
Opinion

‘The Seduction of Secrecy: Toward Better Access to Government Information on the Record’

In a symposium held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on March 17th, Washington, D.C.-based journalists and media observers came together to discuss the use by journalists of…
Government Information
June 15, 2005
Books

Summer 2005: Words & Reflections Introduction

It’s as much the “nitty-gritty of the journalistic enterprise, the ‘how-do-I-do this’ quality of reporting in Iraq” as “the life of the society he is covering” that Edward A. Gargan,…
Melissa Ludtke
June 15, 2005
Opinion

Protecting Reporters Who Protect Sources

Strategic disagreement among journalists has stymied attempts to pass a federal shield law.
Lucy Dalglish
June 15, 2005
International Journalism

Summer 2005: International Journalism Introduction

Rarely do photographs accompany words on the op-ed page of The New York Times. But earlier this year Times columnist Nicholas Kristof connected four gruesome images of the genocide taking…
Melissa Ludtke
June 15, 2005
International Journalism Journalist’s Trade

Sharing Techniques of Publishing

In Jakarta, an admirable venture was in need of organizational training.
Ralph Hancox
June 15, 2005
Journalist’s Trade

Summer 2005: Training Journalists in Foreign Countries Introduction

“Courses that are designed to inspire journalists or encourage creative approaches to the craft are more likely to be exercises in frustration if, at the end of the training, they…
Melissa Ludtke
June 15, 2005
Opinion

Anonymous Sources: Their Use in a Time of Prosecutorial Interest

How are decisions made about publishing information from confidential sources?
Walter Pincus
June 15, 2005
Opinion

All Is Silent at City Hall

After a local publication challenges the Youngstown, Ohio mayor, city employees are prohibited from speaking with reporters, and the case goes to court.
Andrea Wood
June 15, 2005
Features

Teaching Journalism, Finding a Home

A big challenge was balancing ‘my strong sense of ethical practice with a desire to avoid preaching an “American way”….’
Michele McLellan
June 15, 2005
Journalist’s Trade

Planting the Roots of Public Radio In Chile

‘Teaching public radio in a place where people didn’t know anything about it was a huge challenge ….’
Doug Mitchell
June 15, 2005
Journalist’s Trade

New Tools in Telling News Stories

In online workshops, Spanish-speaking journalists learn how to convey news in its broader reality.
Daniel Ulanovsky
June 15, 2005
Nieman Notes

A Berlin Experience for American Journalists

At the American Academy, debate and dialogue lead to changed perspectives.
Paul Stoop
June 15, 2005
Opinion

Respecting Cultural Traditions in a Newsroom

At the Lakota Times, editors help reporters blend their language and ceremonies into their work.
Tim Giago
June 15, 2005
International Journalism

Increasing Press Repression in Russia

‘… bullying calls from the presidential administration or local governors act as a covert substitute for the rule of law.’
Alex Lupis
June 15, 2005
International Journalism

Editorial Dilemmas at an Independent Magazine in Moscow

Mikhail Khodorkovsky on trial in Moscow. Photo by Misha Japaridze/The Associated Press.To get a better idea of our options—when it came time for us to decide how to report on…
Masha Gessen
June 15, 2005
Opinion

It’s Tough to Find New Footholds in Journalism

‘My experience speaks to the barriers that prevent the free trade of journalistic talent.’
George Abraham
June 15, 2005
Features

Press Freedom in Ropczycka, Poland

An American journalist observes the opening months of a newspaper’s birth.
Watson Sims
June 15, 2005
Opinion

Can Government Prohibit a Journalist’s Access to Public Officials?

Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich, Jr. and The Sun are arguing this in federal court.
Timothy A. Franklin
June 15, 2005
Opinion

Debating How and Why Journalists Do What They Do

‘After listening to the real-life stories of real-life Polish journalists, I wasn’t so dogmatic or judgmental.’
Kevin Cullen
June 15, 2005
Opinion

Looking at American Journalism From the Outside In

‘As journalists struggle to report on and understand their times, they cannot escape being part of their times.’
Ron Javers
June 15, 2005
Journalist’s Trade

Getting Ukrainian Journalists to Ask Ordinary People Questions

‘We wanted to get them to report beyond press releases and false assurances of the politicians and bureaucrats.’
Peggy Simpson
June 15, 2005
Opinion

Spin Alley: A Microcosm of Journalism’s Struggles

Will reporters end this ritual and regain the trust of their audience in their 2006 and 2008 political coverage?
Lisa Stone
June 15, 2005
Opinion

Why Won’t Journalists Follow the Money?

By not revealing the funders behind ‘think tanks,’ the information they provide shouldn’t be considered credible by readers.
Morton Mintz
June 15, 2005
Journalist’s Trade

Journalism Education That Succeeds

Students at Tbilisi’s Caucasus School learn by immersing themselves in the skills and work of journalism.
Karl Idsvoog
June 15, 2005
Opinion

Ethical Journalism Is Not an Oxymoron

In ethical decision-making journalists compare ‘very favorably with those who work in other professions.’
Lee Wilkins
June 15, 2005
International Journalism

Darfur Fits Into a Pattern of Reporting Neglect

‘Newspaper bosses are unlikely ever to return Africa staffing to what it was in the 1990’s.’
Ellen Knickmeyer
June 15, 2005
Opinion

Reporters Weigh the Value of Information Against the Threat of Legal Action

‘… no one should underestimate the ability of fear and sophisticated sound bites—otherwise known as propaganda—to shape the public mood.’
Dan Olmsted
June 15, 2005
International Journalism

When Genocide Is a Story Left Largely Untold

‘The challenge for journalists in a situation like Darfur is to remember that our job is to cover history, albeit on the fly, and not just events or press conferences.’
Nicholas Kristof
June 15, 2005
Opinion

Loving and Doubting Journalism at the Same Time

A University of Missouri survey of public attitudes toward journalism reveals a complex pattern of responses.
George Kennedy
June 15, 2005
Opinion

Why Objectivity Still Matters

‘Precisely because we understand our [human] maintaining the pursuit of objectivity.’
Stephen J. Berry
June 15, 2005
Opinion

Why the First Amendment (and Journalism) Might Be in Trouble

‘Only 51 percent of 9th to 12th graders agree that newspapers should be allowed to publish freely without government approval of stories ….
John Bare
June 15, 2005
International Journalism

When Bureaucracy Trumps Excellence

In Eastern Europe, journalists struggle to find their footing.
Valerie Hyman
June 15, 2005
Journalist’s Trade

Tips for American Trainers

RELATED ARTICLE“When Bureaucracy Trumps Excellence”– Valerie HymanRegardless of what organization sends a trainer overseas, what follows are suggestions that could make the experience more effective for everyone. Before leaving the…
Valerie Hyman
June 15, 2005
Opinion

Journalism and the Public Interest

‘… an old-time journalist finds it a matter of sorrow that the press, at the height of its influence, is at a depth of its public approval.’
Daniel Schorr
June 15, 2005
Opinion

Institutional Decision-Making As a Part of Libel Law

The excerpt that follows appears in the conclusion to the Iowa Law Review article written by Randall P. Bezanson and Gilbert Cranberg. RELATED ARTICLE“Introducing a New Concept Into Libel Law”–…
Gilbert Cranberg
June 15, 2005
Opinion

The Public Isn’t Buying Press Credibility

‘The seeds of public distrust were sown long before the recent round of scandals.’
Carroll Doherty
June 15, 2005
Opinion

Journalism In the Age of Pseudoreporting

As fake news surfaces on TV and government public relations staff sizes increase, there are questions worth asking about the impact on journalism.
Frank Greve
June 15, 2005
Journalist’s Trade

Lessons in Teaching Foreign Journalists

‘Issues of press freedom and independence … burn into your consciousness and touch your heart.’
Jerome Aumente
June 15, 2005
Opinion

Introducing a New Concept Into Libel Law

‘We think that institutional malice will make the libel inquiry more attuned to the real world.’
Gilbert Cranberg
June 15, 2005
Journalist’s Trade

Support for International Journalism Training

RELATED ARTICLE“Lessons in Teaching Foreign Journalists”– Jerome AumenteMany organizations contribute to international training efforts. In the past, funding has come from a variety of sources, some private, others governmental. The…
Jerome Aumente
June 15, 2005
Opinion

Truth and Trust: In Iraq War Coverage, They’ve Become Casualties

‘How to counter the drip-drip-drip of the dead and the maimed? Blame the media.’
Sig Christenson
June 15, 2005
Journalist’s Trade

Strategies for Training International Journalists

RELATED ARTICLE“Lessons in Teaching Foreign Journalists”– Jerome AumenteDecades of experience in assisting journalists in foreign countries offer insights into what works best. In a book I am writing about training…
Jerome Aumente
June 15, 2005
Opinion

Military Reporters Protest Restrictions in Court Coverage

In coverage of the court-marital trial of Army Sgt. Hasan Akbar, a soldier accused of killing other American soldiers with a grenade attack, officers at Fort Bragg required reporters to…
Sig Christenson
June 15, 2005
Opinion

Offering Anonymity Too Easily to Sources

‘In the past few weeks reporters have called, and the first thing out of their mouth is, “You want to go off the record?”’
Symposium Participants
June 15, 2005
Opinion

Reporting in an Era of Heightened Concern About Anonymous Sources

‘If you push back, you can get results, and we need to push back more collectively.’
Symposium Participants
June 15, 2005
Opinion

The White House: Can It Control the Press?

With secrecy on the rise, what is happening in Washington, D.C. is having a wider impact on how government officials relate to the press.
Symposium Participants
June 15, 2005
Opinion

A Downward Trend in Use of Anonymous Sources

Surveys of journalists and public opinion place the use and need for anonymous sources in a broader context.
Symposium Participants
June 15, 2005
Journalist’s Trade

Trainers Can Remain Foreign to Local Journalists

Due to cultural and language differences, trainers can be ‘regarded as a sort of extraterrestrial as they deliver their advice and lessons.’
Ragip Duran
June 15, 2005
Journalist’s Trade

Advice and Guidance for International Journalism Trainers

‘Until overseas trainers get to know the interests of the particular individuals with whom they’ll work, they are unlikely to be able to specify terms of success.’
John Bare
June 15, 2005
Opinion

Helping Armenian Reporters Dig Deeper

More in-depth and better-documented stories began to be told after an intensive training program.
Lucinda Fleeson
June 15, 2005
From the Curator

The Nieman Reunion: A Time to Talk and Listen

‘I understand better our obligation to expand communication about the program through the tools of e-mail and the Web.’
Bob Giles
June 15, 2005
Opinion

A Challenging Experience in Cape Verde

‘There are journalists who justify their apathy with the lack of [good working] conditions.’
Rui Araujo
June 15, 2005
Journalist’s Trade

Training Iraqi Translators How to Act as Reporters

With concerns about safety, ‘our interpreters became something much more than translators.’
Patrick J. McDonnell
June 15, 2005
Opinion

Press Silence Before Rwanda’s Genocide

‘If any of my students reacted against the government’s methods of control, they feared for their lives.’
Jacques A. Rivard
June 15, 2005
International Journalism

When Journalism Training Isn’t Enough

‘… our newsrooms are impoverished, and it will take much more than training courses to correct the situation.’
Sue Valentine
June 15, 2005
Opinion

Trust: What It Means for Journalism

‘For people to have trust in this profession, to whom do they look for various standards, for professionalization, of the journalistic craft?’
Karen Stephenson
June 15, 2005
Books

An American Correspondent Brings Africa Out of the Shadows

‘Western reporters in Africa get away with an ignorance that would not be tolerated if they were assigned to other world regions ….’
Wilson Wanene
June 15, 2005
Books

The Global Poverty Beat

‘What choices will news organizations make in the years ahead about coverage of the world’s poor and their problems?’ Two new books provide direction.
Chris Waddle
June 15, 2005
Books

A Remembrance of Foreign Reporting

In ‘Bad News,’ a retired network correspondent eulogizes the decline of foreign news reporting.
John Maxwell Hamilton
June 15, 2005
Books

Passionate Criticism of Iraq War Coverage By the American Press

A journalist longs for a more ‘dispassionate discussion’ of U.S. war policy.
Tom Wicker
June 15, 2005
Books

Getting an Up-Close View of the Military in Iraq

‘For the first time it has been possible for large numbers of journalists to observe closely the behavior of U.S. troops and how it refracted among Iraqis.’
Alissa J. Rubin
June 15, 2005
Books

Seeing What Others Failed to Notice

Reporting from Baghdad, Jon Lee Anderson ‘offers a profound antidote to the simplistic impulses of American television news ….’
Edward A. Gargan
June 15, 2005
An Unseen Side of Iran
Nieman Notes

An Unseen Side of Iran

A drug-sniffing dog, donated by the French government, is used to search a truck by Anti-Narcotics Police at Shahid Sherofat checkpoint near Esfahan, Iran, while a bus passes in the…
Molly Bingham
June 15, 2005
Opinion

Summer 2005: Introduction

Among the casualties of the invasion and occupation of Iraq have been truth and trust, according to Sig Christenson, military affairs writer for the San Antonio Express-News. After working as…
Melissa Ludtke
June 15, 2005