ISSUE

Summer-Fall 2021

Lessons From The Pandemic

Hope that the coronavirus is finally being brought under control has prompted plans for a return to “normal.” But can, or should, journalism return to a pre-pandemic “normal?” Across newsrooms, the way we once covered education, sports, food, politics — any beat — is unlikely to be sufficient for the new moment we are entering.

What are the lasting lessons of this time? And how should we do journalism differently moving forward? These are the questions Nieman Reports explores in our essay series, Lessons from the Pandemic.

Articles

Inside a Polish Covid Ward, a Photojournalist is Moved by Compassion

Visual Journalism

Inside a Polish Covid Ward, a Photojournalist is Moved by Compassion

Maciek Nabrdalik, photojournalist and 2017 Nieman Fellow, on photographing the coronavirus pandemic in Poland: “Since March 2020, we’ve been surrounded by a loud noise of political discussions and social response…

Maciek Nabrdalik

November 18, 2021

Touch Points

From the Curator

Touch Points

Distance kept us safe from Covid, but reporting requires contact and connection

Ann Marie Lipinski

November 9, 2021

School Experiences Varied Widely in The Pandemic. Your Journalism Should Reflect That

Opinion

School Experiences Varied Widely in The Pandemic. Your Journalism Should Reflect That

Finding the students and families who can’t make it to school board meetings or protests needs to be a top priority for reporters

Kathleen McNerney

September 10, 2021

As the World Changes, Sports Journalism Needs to Keep Meeting the Moment

Covering Women's Sports Opinion

As the World Changes, Sports Journalism Needs to Keep Meeting the Moment

The pandemic forced sports departments to go beyond scores and records. That’s a change that every newsroom should carry into the future

September 8, 2021

STAT's Helen Branswell On How COVID-19 Has Changed the Health and Medicine Beat

Opinion

STAT’s Helen Branswell On How COVID-19 Has Changed the Health and Medicine Beat

The STAT senior reporter on the moment she knew the pandemic would become a big story, the politicization of the beat, and the challenges of reporting on evolving science

Laura Colarusso

September 2, 2021

“A Wake in Words”: The Importance of Obituaries During — and After — the Pandemic

Opinion

“A Wake in Words”: The Importance of Obituaries During — and After — the Pandemic

Unless news organizations continue to invest in obituaries, a fundamental way of keeping people together — and informed — will be lost

Maureen O’Donnell

Alexei Navalny, Social Media, and the State of the Free Press in Russia

Features

Alexei Navalny, Social Media, and the State of the Free Press in Russia

The space for independent Russian journalism is shrinking, but a handful of small outlets still offer an alternative to state media

Elizaveta Kuznetsova

“Journalists Make Me Better”

Sounding

“Journalists Make Me Better”

Journalists stand for truth, integrity and for those who can’t stand for themselves. When I think the work can’t matter, they show me it does

Post-Covid, Newsrooms Should Cover What’s Going Right in Indian Country, Too

Opinion

Post-Covid, Newsrooms Should Cover What’s Going Right in Indian Country, Too

The mainstream press covered Indian Country at its worst. Its Covid-19 recovery is just as newsworthy

In Polarized Times, Local Papers Need to Lean Even Harder into Tough Issues

Opinion

In Polarized Times, Local Papers Need to Lean Even Harder into Tough Issues

Local newsrooms should report with nuance, grace, and empathy — especially when covering political hot-button issues

For Visual Journalists, The Pandemic Was Creative Inspiration to Try Harder

Opinion

For Visual Journalists, The Pandemic Was Creative Inspiration to Try Harder

At the Minneapolis Star Tribune, photographers and videographers didn’t flinch from showing what was happening, but they also portrayed subjects in their full humanity

Serving the Audiences Mainstream Newsrooms Don’t

Diversity

Serving the Audiences Mainstream Newsrooms Don’t

How the pandemic, anti-police brutality protests, and Atlanta spa shootings starkly illustrate the need for community and immigrant-serving media outlets

Holding On to Hope that News Coverage Leads to Change

Niemans @ Work

Holding On to Hope that News Coverage Leads to Change

Jasmine Brown, a 2020 Nieman Fellow and a 2021 Nieman Visiting Fellow, on maintaining her faith in journalism through the struggles of the past year.One of my primary beliefs as…

Empowering Incarcerated People to Tell Their Own Stories

Niemans @ Work

Empowering Incarcerated People to Tell Their Own Stories

Shaheen Pasha, a 2018 Knight Visiting Nieman Fellow, on starting the Prison Journalism Project and training incarcerated writers to tell stories about their prison community.The first thing I noticed was…

The Old Normal Is Not the Normal Journalism Needs

Opinion

The Old Normal Is Not the Normal Journalism Needs

The opening of newsrooms is filled with hope and fear. But we need human contact to feel human, and we need to feel human to report the stories of humanity

What Newsrooms Can Learn About Trust from Coverage of the AstraZeneca Vaccine

Opinion

What Newsrooms Can Learn About Trust from Coverage of the AstraZeneca Vaccine

Trust needs to be continually earned. That’s a lesson newsrooms all over the world are learning, sometimes the hard way

Mattia Ferraresi

Telling Young People about the Realities of War

Niemans @ Work

Telling Young People about the Realities of War

Rania Abouzeid, a 2020 Nieman Fellow, on adapting her book on the Syrian Civil War for a young audience through “Sisters of the War: Two Remarkable True Stories of Survival…

Food Writing Needs to Balance Service Journalism with Hard News

Opinion

Food Writing Needs to Balance Service Journalism with Hard News

Food journalism isn’t just for readers privileged enough to obsess over where to spend their money dining out

For Political Reporters, There Will Be No “Return to Normal”

Opinion

For Political Reporters, There Will Be No “Return to Normal”

After the pandemic, America will be different. It will take all our skills – traditional and those we learned in the crisis – to cover the new reality

During Covid, Journalists Were Less Packaged. Let’s Keep It That Way

Opinion

During Covid, Journalists Were Less Packaged. Let’s Keep It That Way

To ensure a healthier industry filled with healthier people, newsrooms must take the whole of the journalist into account in ways that weren’t always true pre-pandemic

Issac J. Bailey

Live @ Lippmann

Futuro Media Group’s Maria Hinojosa: “It Was Out of Frustration that Futuro Was Built”

The pioneering journalist on covering Latinx communities, integrating BIPOC narratives into the mainstream, and covering immigration with depth and nuance

Covering Extremism: “As Exhausting a Beat as It Is Important”

Features

Covering Extremism: “As Exhausting a Beat as It Is Important”

Reporters who have long covered the far right offer advice — and warnings — for where reporting on white nationalism and conspiracy theories should go from here

Celeste Katz Marston

Get to Know the Newsrooms Focused on Elevating Latinx Voices in the U.S.

Diversity

Get to Know the Newsrooms Focused on Elevating Latinx Voices in the U.S.

From more established outlets to startups, these newsrooms are bringing nuanced, in-depth coverage to the issues impacting Latinx people

Sofia Cerda Campero

Lithuania’s Public Broadcaster and Commercial Rivals Clash over State Funding

Features

Lithuania’s Public Broadcaster and Commercial Rivals Clash over State Funding

Public funding of broadcasting is a cherished cornerstone of European democracies. In Lithuania, commercial stations argue state-financed budgets give the country’s public broadcaster an unfair advantage

One Year Into the Pandemic, How Are Health Reporters Doing?

Features

One Year Into the Pandemic, How Are Health Reporters Doing?

Health reporters are holding officials accountable, documenting the virus’s devastating toll, and balancing the pandemic’s impact on their own lives

Chelsea Cirruzzo