ISSUE

Winter 2001

Coverage of Terrorism

Through the night of September 11, 2001, photographer Peter Turnley took refuge in a second-floor office in a clothing store, its windows blown out by the force of the attack on the World Trade Center. As he tried to absorb what he was seeing, he documented the devastation. At dawn, he moved close to the site and fastened his journalistic eye on faces whose expressions evoke our feelings of loss. From covering war, Turnley knew that “the most important pictures…are after the battle, when one sees the human impact.”

Download PDF

Articles

Features

The Dangers of Disinformation in the War on Terrorism

‘We actually put out a false message to mislead people.’
Maud S. Beelman
December 15, 2001
Journalist’s Trade

The Principles of War Coverage

In 1992, journalists and the Pentagon agreed on nine principles to govern coverage.
December 15, 2001
Features

The Pentagon and the Press

Several ‘principles’ of coverage became victims of the war against terrorism.
Stanley W. Cloud
December 15, 2001
Opinion

Secrecy and the Press in a Time of War

‘If we guard our toothbrushes and diamonds with equal zeal, we will probably lose fewer toothbrushes and more diamonds.’
Ted Gup
December 15, 2001
Opinion

Is the Press Up to the Task of Reporting These Stories?

An investigative journalist examines the evidence and shares his concerns.
James Bamford
December 15, 2001
Features

Press Access to Satellite Images is a Casualty in This War

The Department of Defense owns and controls these pictures.
Christopher Simpson
December 15, 2001
Journalist’s Trade

Training Journalists to Report Safely in Hostile Environments

‘…fire services personnel don’t go fighting fires without proper training….’
John Owen
December 15, 2001
Features

The Unreported Threat in Coverage of Anthrax

Journalists fail to focus on the longer-term dangers of antibiotic resistance.
Philip Caper
December 15, 2001
Nieman Notes

Living Treasures

There is a small committee in Santa Fe that twice each year names three people as “Living Treasures.” The name, and to some extent the content, is based on a…
Steve Northup
December 15, 2001
International Journalism

Arab Women Media Center

RELATED ARTICLE“Breaking Down Barriers in the Arab Media”– Naomi SakrIn December 1999, the Arab Women Media Center (AWMC) was launched in Jordan. Its mission is to assist women who work…
December 15, 2001
International Journalism

Breaking Down Barriers in the Arab Media

Women activists have shown that obstacles to progress take many forms.
Naomi Sakr
December 15, 2001
Nieman Notes

Interactivity Creates a Different Kind of Journalism

A former newspaper editor turned radio host discovers ‘a forum, simultaneously public and intimate, for digesting news and debating its meaning.’
Tom Ashbrook
December 15, 2001
Features

Stories the Media Decide Not to Tell

An Arab American assesses coverage from his dual perspective.
Abdelmagid Mazen
December 15, 2001
International Journalism

Moving Coverage Beyond a Woman’s Veil

In Iran, important stories about women are submerged by inaccurate assumptions.
Naghmeh Sohrabi
December 15, 2001
Features

President Harry Truman Enlisted Journalists in the Cold War

Are there parallels between then and now?
Nancy Bernhard
December 15, 2001
Features

Asking Probing Questions in a Time of National Crisis

Are journalists asking ‘the right question?’
Charles Nesson
December 15, 2001
Features

Revealing Beauty in the Harshness of War

A woman in a burka walks near a mosque in Mazar-i-Sharif. 1990. Photo by Reza/Webistan.©On his journeys to Afghanistan, Iranian photographer Reza used his camera to document the life and…
Reza
December 15, 2001
Journalist’s Trade

Language Matters as We Try to Describe What Happened

‘By accepting language’s failure, we surrender our understanding and the complex meaning of events to silence….’
Beverly Wall
December 15, 2001
International Journalism

Machismo Is Only One Obstacle Women Face

A Colombian war reporter becomes involved with women’s issues.
María Cristina Caballero
December 15, 2001
International Journalism

Reporting on War, Listening to Women

An Indonesian journalist argues that women have a ‘psychological map’ of war.
Ratih Hardjono
December 15, 2001
International Journalism

Between the Rhetoric of Equality and the Harsh Reality

In Latin America, women journalists share experiences to find a way forward.
Blanca Rosales
December 15, 2001
International Journalism

Women, War and the Media

In October, Indian author and journalist Ammu Joseph presented a lecture on covering gender to students at the Asian College of Journalism in Chennai, India. An essay, based in part…
Ammu Joseph
December 15, 2001
Watchdog

Watchdog Journalism: An Instrument of Democracy

In his introduction to the Nieman Foundation Watchdog Conference held at Harvard University in September, Curator Bob Giles described how and why the Watchdog project was created. He invited Murrey…
Bob Giles
December 15, 2001
International Journalism

Winter 2001: Women and Journalism Introduction

In an excerpt Niemen Reports published from a book about gender and journalism, Margaret Gallagher wrote in 2001: “Wherever one looks in the world, women still have relatively little decision-making…
Melissa Ludtke
December 15, 2001
International Journalism

In Poland, Women Run the Largest News Organization

But critics contend that coverage of women’s news is ‘unpredictable and ignores many key issues.’
Peggy Simpson
December 15, 2001
International Journalism

Women Bring a Certain Look and Feeling to News

A South American journalist believes stories women cover best are what the public now wants.
Veronica Lopez
December 15, 2001
Visual Journalism

Images of a Shattered City

‘…you can feel the energy and the horror and a sense of history washing over you at once.’
Stan Grossfeld
December 15, 2001
Journalist’s Trade Visual Journalism

Using Graphics to Tell Stories

‘[O]nline graphics add other dimensions to the stories we report….’
Joanne Miller
December 15, 2001
International Journalism

‘Who Makes the News?’

The Global Media Monitoring Project 2000 finds great disparities in news coverage of men and women.
Anna Turley
December 15, 2001
International Journalism

Changing the Way Women’s Lives Are Portrayed

‘Ordinary women only are considered news when something they’ve done is “bad”….’
Lettie Longwe
December 15, 2001
International Journalism

The Varied Pace of Women’s Progress

Surveys by the International Federation of Journalists find similar challenges but contrasting results for women in different countries.
Bettina Peters
December 15, 2001
Journalist’s Trade

Recommended Sites

www.spaceimaging.comSpace Imaging’s Ikonos one-meter resolution satellite is the premier source for civilian highresolution imagery, but at this writing its data collected over Afghanistan and environs has been effectively blockaded by…
Christopher Simpson
December 15, 2001
International Journalism

‘Visual Voices’: Photos From China

‘Women turn the camera’s eye on their own lives.’
December 15, 2001
Features

Winter 2001: Introduction

Through the night of September 11, 2001, photographer Peter Turnley took refuge in a second-floor office in a clothing store, its windows blown out by the force of the attack…
Melissa Ludtke
December 15, 2001
International Journalism

In Pakistan, Journalists Maintain Women’s Lesser Status

[Journalists] ‘have a somewhat conformist approach towards women’s issues.’
Massoud Ansari
December 15, 2001
International Journalism

Worldwoman Stretches Its Reach to Several Continents

By training rural women how to tell their stories, the coverage of news changes.
Lesley Riddoch
December 15, 2001
International Journalism

Community Radio Provides Women a Way to Have Their Voices Heard

Rural African women are trained in the use of reporters’ technological tools.
L. Muthoni Wanyeki
December 15, 2001
International Journalism

Bringing Women’s Stories to a Reluctant Mainstream Press

At Women’s Feature Service, journalists write about women’s lives.
Angana Parekh
December 15, 2001
International Journalism

An Absence of Women

At newspapers in South Africa, few women are at the top. Some wonder why and ask why it matters.
Pippa Green
December 15, 2001
International Journalism

Media Don’t Portray the Realities of Women’s Lives

Business decisions and societal ambivalence in India leave many women’s stories untold.
Sakuntala Narasimhan
December 15, 2001
International Journalism

Storming the Citadel of Hard News Coverage

Women report alongside men but their impact can be difficult to discern.
Ammu Joseph
December 15, 2001
From the Curator

Reporting Clashes With Government Policies

‘The watchdog role of the press is never more vital than during a national crisis.’
Bob Giles
December 15, 2001
International Journalism

Freelancers’ Vital Role in International Reporting

With the rise of media conglomerates, foreign news has been shoved aside.
Nate Thayer
December 15, 2001
International Journalism

In Nigerian Newspapers, Women Are Seen, Not Heard

Even influential women journalists stay away from coverage of women’s issues.
Christine Anyanwu
December 15, 2001
International Journalism

Reporting on Gender in Journalism

‘Why do so few women reach the top?’
Margaret Gallagher
December 15, 2001
International Journalism

Reporting International News in a Serious Way

Coverage needs to reflect ‘the same values that are given to reporting news at home.’
William F. Woo
December 15, 2001
Features

Highlighting Antibiotic Resistance

RELATED ARTICLE“The Unreported Threat in Coverage of Anthrax”– Philip CaperThough coverage of the potential health hazards of antibiotic abuse and overuse did not receive nearly the prominence of illnesses and…
December 15, 2001
Opinion

America: A Bully Wreaking Havoc on the Poor

Why the Spanish press highlights the ugly side of the ‘war against terror.’
Dale Fuchs
December 15, 2001
Opinion

Understanding the ‘Why’ of September 11

Using the Web, Globalvision’s world news site helps readers dig deeper and broader for answers.
Danny Schechter
December 15, 2001
Features

Independent Media Try to be Balanced and Fair in Their Coverage

Yet all parties play their ‘well-known game of intimidating the media.’
Fazal Qureshi
December 15, 2001
Visual Journalism

Images From Another War in Afghanistan

A controversial program for Afghan ‘journalists’ produced a treasured collection of video, audio and photography.
David B. Edwards
December 15, 2001
September 11, 2001: Telling Stories Visually
Visual Journalism

September 11, 2001: Telling Stories Visually

‘What moved me was a sense of a life being transformed by an experience in a way that there was no going back.’
Peter Turnley
December 15, 2001
Features

Reporting to a Western Audience About the Islamic World

American journalists often lack training, knowledge and sensitivity needed to tell these stories.
Geneive Abdo
December 15, 2001