Events

2010 Christopher J. Georges Conference on College Journalism »: Apr 16, 2010 to Apr 17, 2010; The 2010 Christopher J. Georges Conference on College Journalism was held at Lippmann House, home of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard, on April 16-17. More than 70 students from a dozen college newspapers participated in a series of talks and workshops led by award-winning journalists and news executives.

As in the past, students from The Harvard Crimson, under the direction of Crimson President Peter Zhu, co-sponsored the event. Thanks to all the volunteers who helped to make this gathering possible.

2009 I.F. Stone Medal for Journalistic Independence »: Oct 1, 2009 to Oct 1, 2009; The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard presented the 2009 I.F. Stone Medal for Journalistic Independence to Jon Alpert.

2009 Georges Conference on College Journalism »: Apr 3, 2009 to Apr 4, 2009; More than 70 students from 14 college newspapers gathered at the Nieman Foundation April 3-4, 2009 for the sixth annual event, which offered talks by leading journalists, training sessions and networking opportunities. The weekend event is sponsored by the Christopher J. Georges Fund, which the Nieman Foundation administers, and is co-hosted by the foundation and The Harvard Crimson.

HEAR FROM A FEW CONFERENCE ATTENDEES on our Georges Conference Blog »

2009 Nieman Conference on Narrative Journalism: Telling True Stories in Turbulent Times »

Mar 20, 2009 to Mar 22, 2009

Close to 600 journalists joined us at the Sheraton Boston March 20-22 for our eighth annual narrative conference. Keynoter Connie Schultz, columnist for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, addressed the elephant in the room: the crisis in our industry and the loss of jobs across the country. Schultz made us laugh, reminded us of the power of stories, and noted that even if the business model is broken we “are not broken.”

In session after session, speakers generously offered more insight and inspiration. Highlights:

•	Jon Lee Anderson on the value of the outtake: Early in his career, he said, “everything that seemed valuable … was still in me and never saw the light of day"; years later, those outtakes have found a place in four narrative books;
•	Writer/psychotherapist Dennis Palumbo on the psychic dangers all writers face ("liberating and encouraging,” said one attendee);
•	New York Times multimedia guru Amy O’Leary on narrative form for audio geeks;
•	Tom French from Indiana University on reporting that makes a story sing;
•	Jennifer Crandall and Richard Koci Hernandez on the art of the interview;
•	Adam Hochschild on suspense, showing how flat “The Three Little Pigs” would be if told in who-what-where fashion;
•	Jane Kamensky, Tina Bennett, and Wendy Wolf on how authors, agents, and editors work together;
•	Gwen Ifill on the former NAACP chairman Julian Bond telling young Turks to “snatch power” from elders.

By the time the conference was over, we all snatched some power back to sustain our passion, intellect, and drive.

AFTERMATH: Journalism, storytelling, and the impact of violence and tragedy »: Feb 26, 2009 to Feb 28, 2009; At the end of February, the Nieman Foundation hosted a conference looking at trauma journalism. We convened renowned writers, editors, reporters, photographers, filmmakers, trauma researchers, poets, novelists, historians and others to explore how journalists report the emotional impact of violence, death and disaster on people and their lives. Learn more »

70th Anniversary Convocation Weekend »: Nov 7, 2008 to Nov 9, 2008; We gathered in Cambridge to celebrate the Nieman Foundation and shared stories about how our fellowship experiences have affected our lives and careers. We also took a critical look at journalism today, examining both the challenges and new opportunities that new media and shifting business models present.

2008 I.F. Stone Medal Presentation & Workshop »: Oct 7, 2008; The presentation of the first I.F. Stone Medal for Journalistic Independence will take place on October 7, 2008 at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. The winner of the 2008 award is John Walcott , Washington bureau chief of the McClatchy Co. (formerly Knight Ridder bureau chief in Washington).

2008 Nieman Seminar for Narrative Editors »: Sep 26, 2008 to Sep 28, 2008; The Nieman Seminar for Narrative Editors is an intimate weekend bringing together 10 of the top teacher-practitioners and 60 narrative editors from across the country and abroad.

Reporting Global Conflict Uncovering the link between religion and human rights »: Apr 9, 2008 to Apr 10, 2008; In May 2008, the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard and the Harvard Divinity School co-hosted a conference investigating the links and tension between religion and human rights in global conflict and in global conflict reporting.

The participating scholars, leaders, advocates and journalists welcomed the opportunity to engage in a frank, constructive discussion of the roles religion, human rights legislation and the media each play in securing, protecting or violating human rights. The conference offered a rare chance to discuss the complexities of the issues involved, an opportunity deeply appreciated by those attending.

2008 Christopher J. Georges Conference on College Journalism »: Apr 4, 2008 to Apr 5, 2008; More than 80 students from a dozen schools participated in the fifth annual Christopher J. Georges Conference on College Journalism in April. Sponsored by the Christopher J. Georges Fund and co-hosted by the Nieman Foundation and The Harvard Crimson, the event offered talks by leading journalists, training sessions and networking opportunities.

Paul Steiger, former managing editor of The Wall Street Journal and current editor-in-chief of ProPublica, delivered the keynote speech. Charles Sennott NF ’06, executive editor/vice president of Global News Enterprises, also spoke about the importance of international news coverage. 2008 Nieman Fellows Simon
Wilson, Alicia Anstead and Joshua Benton along with Nieman Narrative Journalism Program Director Constance Hale presented several workshops on topics ranging from “Reporting from the Field” to “Google,Web Tools and Blogging.” A panel discussion on political reporting and the 2008 elections rounded out the day with John Harris from Politico, Mark Halperin of Time/ABC News and Jackie Calmes, political reporter for The Wall Street Journal.

At the end of the conference, the Christopher J. Georges Award for Excellence in Student Journalism was presented to Yale Herald reporter Alex Hemmer and his editor, Laura Yao, for their story “National immigration politics take a local toll.” The Georges Award recognizes in-depth reporting on issues of enduring social value and demonstrates the human impact of public policy. For the first time, the competition was open not just to Harvard Crimson reporters, but to all student newspapers participating in the conference.