ISSUE

Winter 2021

What's Next...

As a new President and his administration prepare to take office, many previous norms around the relationship between the press and the White House will take time to return — if they return at all — and key challenges, for both the press and the public, will remain.

As they prepare to cover the post-Trump era, political reporters in particular will face critical challenges, and the lingering issues of media mistrust, conspiracy theories, and journalism’s economic sustainability will continue to plague the media no matter who is in the White House.

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Articles

In Lebanon, a Bold New Era for Accountability Journalism
Features International Journalism Watchdog

In Lebanon, a Bold New Era for Accountability Journalism

Seven years before the largest explosion since Hiroshima obliterated a large part of the port of Beirut in August, claimed some 200 lives, and left some 300,000 homeless, port authorities…
Habib Battah
December 18, 2020
In Morocco, Press Freedom Advocates Say Sex Charges are Used to Silence Journalists
Features International Journalism Watchdog

In Morocco, Press Freedom Advocates Say Sex Charges are Used to Silence Journalists

A little over a year ago, 45 people in an inflatable boat died at sea trying to cross to Spain from a beach north of the city of Casablanca along…
Aida Alami
December 18, 2020
Journalism’s Reckoning with “Manipulation at a Mass Scale”
From the Curator

Journalism’s Reckoning with “Manipulation at a Mass Scale”

I traveled once to Tripoli to interview Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. Colleagues and I met him in a Bedouin tent under a full moon on the grounds of Bab al-Azizya,…
Ann Marie Lipinski
December 17, 2020
Sounding

Beyond Superheroes Vs. Villains

As a kid I loved Superman. The undisputed good guy, he saved the world. Superhero and comic book movies often showcase easy-to-understand stakes, protagonists, and antagonists, making villains and heroes…
Austin Bogues
December 15, 2020
A Picture of Hope in a Woman-Led Nation
Visual Journalism

A Picture of Hope in a Woman-Led Nation

Photojournalist Andrea Bruce, a 2016 Nieman Fellow: “This story for National Geographic magazine was about women gaining political power across the world. Here, in New Zealand, young Maori women stood alongside…
Andrea Bruce
December 2, 2020
How Journalists Beyond the U.S. Fight Back Against Government Intimidation
International Journalism

How Journalists Beyond the U.S. Fight Back Against Government Intimidation

President Trump may be leaving office but he and his rhetoric about fake news are here to stay. From the beginning of his presidential campaign, Trump has used the rubric…
Madeleine Schwartz
November 24, 2020
“Change Cannot be Reduced to Storytelling, but Storytelling is Very Often at the Beginning of Change”
Niemans @ Work

“Change Cannot be Reduced to Storytelling, but Storytelling is Very Often at the Beginning of Change”

At Germany’s The New Institute, Georg Diez, NF ‘17, hopes storytelling is the catalyst for societal change.What is the power, urgency, some would say duty of journalism in the face…
Georg Diez
November 24, 2020
Amidst Political Turmoil in Belarus, a Revival of Trust in Independent Journalism
International Journalism

Amidst Political Turmoil in Belarus, a Revival of Trust in Independent Journalism

“Nearly everybody I know has been injured, beaten, detained, forced to flee, or has gone into hiding. It is personal. These are my friends. These are my fellow citizens,” says…
Annie Philip
November 23, 2020
Adding Diverse Perspectives to Newsroom Discussions
Niemans @ Work

Adding Diverse Perspectives to Newsroom Discussions

With their Diversifying Journalism project, 2020 Nieman Fellows Ana Campoy, Jasmine Brown, and Selymar Colón are building databases of journalists and experts of color.At the time I was looking for…
Ana Campoy
November 16, 2020
For Political Reporters, The Post-Trump Era Poses Practical—and Existential—Questions
Politics

For Political Reporters, The Post-Trump Era Poses Practical—and Existential—Questions

For the four years President Donald Trump was in office, political journalists covered an administration that repeatedly attacked the press, calling them the “enemy of the people,” and which repeatedly…
Allegra Hobbs
November 13, 2020
Creating a Podcast About a Challenge That Will Outlast the Pandemic: Climate Change
Niemans @ Work

Creating a Podcast About a Challenge That Will Outlast the Pandemic: Climate Change

With the new CBC podcast “What On Earth,” Laura Lynch, NF ’00, is bringing climate change coverage — and potential solutions — to Canadians.The phone call came in May. The…
Laura Lynch
November 13, 2020
Challenges and Possible Solutions to Winning Back Trust in Journalism Post-Trump
Politics

Challenges and Possible Solutions to Winning Back Trust in Journalism Post-Trump

When political writer Seema Mehta of the Los Angeles Times hit the trail to cover Election Day voting in Michigan, she had some new equipment in her bag: Gas mask.…
Celeste Katz Marston
November 12, 2020
The 19th*'s Editor-At-Large on Newsroom Diversity, Breonna Taylor's Killing, and More
Diversity in Journalism Live @ Lippmann

The 19th*’s Editor-At-Large on Newsroom Diversity, Breonna Taylor’s Killing, and More

“Women are the majority of the electorate. We shouldn’t be talked about like a special‑interest group anymore”
October 28, 2020
Covering Abortion as a Personal Health Care Issue, and Not Just a Political One
Features

Covering Abortion as a Personal Health Care Issue, and Not Just a Political One

For about a year, Becca Andrews, a Mother Jones reporter based in California, diligently worked to build a relationship with Laurie Bertram Roberts, an activist who helps Mississippi women obtain…
Melissa Jeltsen
October 15, 2020

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Publisher
Ann Marie Lipinski
Editor
James Geary
Senior Editor
Jan Gardner
Editorial Specialist
Eryn M. Carlson
Staff Assistant
Shelby Grebbin
Print Design
Dan Zedek