Nieman Foundation News

Google’s head of news products looks to future

Wed, 16 May 2012 15:53:06 GMT

Addressing an audience at the Nieman Foundation on May 11, Richard Gingras, the head of news products for Google, discussed the need for constant innovation in journalism. Changes in the news industry aren’t temporary problems that will be fixed and go away, he stressed. Rather, the field will remain in constant flux as disruptive technology dominates and those who wish to thrive must learn how to adapt. Gingras mentioned a number of ways newspapers and journalists can draw attention to their work online and build audience, from spending less time on home page design to regularly updating story pages to keep them relevant over time. He also discussed the need for greater transparency, new reporters’ tools and collaboration with the trusted crowd.

Watch his presentation and learn more »

Read the Nieman Journalism Lab’s report »

Foundation announces its 75th class of Nieman Fellows

Wed, 16 May 2012 13:29:41 GMT

The Nieman Foundation has selected 24 journalists from the United States and abroad as members of the 75th class of Nieman Fellows. The group includes journalists who work across all media platforms as reporters, editors, radio and television broadcasters, photojournalists and digital media pioneers. Read more »

Keller to end ‘extraordinary journey’ at Chicago Tribune

Tue, 15 May 2012 15:46:58 GMT

Julia Keller, the Chicago Tribune cultural critic who won the newspaper’s only Pulitzer Prize for feature writing, says it's time to return to the academic world — and pursue a new career as a novelist. Keller is a 1998 Nieman Fellow. Read more »

Cecilia Alvear helps choose Panama's National Journalism Award winners

Tue, 15 May 2012 14:57:15 GMT

Cecilia Alvear, a 1989 Nieman Fellow, recently served on an eight-member jury of international journalists who selected Panama's National Journalism Awards. This is the 16th year that the Fundación Fórum de Periodistas por la Libertad de Expresión e Información has held this event in Panama City.

Roberto Eisenmann recieves lifetime achievement award

Tue, 15 May 2012 15:47:51 GMT

Roberto Eisenmann, a 1986 Nieman Fellow and Founder of the daily "La Prensa" in Panama, was honored with a lifetime achievement award by Fundación Fórum de Periodistas por la Libertad de Expresión e Información of Panama for his continued commitment to freedom of expression and information. While a Nieman Fellow, Mr. Eisenmann was exiled from Panama due to reprisals from the Noriega regime.

Mike McGrady, known for a literary hoax, dies at 78

Tue, 15 May 2012 15:48:26 GMT

Mike McGrady, a prizewinning reporter for Newsday who to his chagrin was best known as the mastermind of one of the juiciest literary hoaxes in America died on May 13 at 78. He was a 1969 Nieman Fellow. Read more »

2012 Christopher J. Georges Conference On College Journalism

Tue, 08 May 2012 14:56:39 GMT

The Christopher J. Georges Award for Excellence in Student Journalism honors exceptional, in-depth reporting by a student reporter on a policy issue of importance affecting his/her campus, community, or beyond. Judges look for reports that delve beneath the surface of the story and presenting all sides of its complexities with fairness and accuracy. The award is presented during the annual Georges Collegiate Weekend for college journalists, which is co-hosted by the Nieman Foundation and students from The Harvard Crimson.

The Georges Award aims to encourage and promote the type of journalism Christopher Georges loved best: feature stories that do not simply examine policy making and reform, but explore from a human perspective both the intended and unintended consequences of these policies on the people who are affected by them.

2011 Christopher J. Georges Conference On College Journalism

Tue, 08 May 2012 14:56:20 GMT

Veteran Nieman journalists featured on new website

Fri, 11 May 2012 10:06:24 GMT

Investigating Power, a new multimedia website that features the work of 26 leading journalists who have exposed abuses of power in contemporary U.S. history, profiles several Nieman Fellows. Those interviewed include John Carroll, NF ’72; former Nieman curator Bill Kovach, NF ’89; founder of the Nieman Watchdog Project Murrey Marder, NF ’50; Morton Mintz, NF ’64; Gene Roberts, NF ’62; and Nieman Watchdog editor Barry Sussman.

Learn more »

Nieman sparks Harvard student’s interest in journalism

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 09:21:22 GMT

When Harvard student Alyssa Botelho interned at the Nieman Foundation last summer, she not only got the chance to profile interview Nieman’s Global Health Fellows, she was inspired to pursue journalism and develop a new science section in The Harvard Crimson. She writes "Half of my time in college is dedicated to biochemical research, and the other half to understanding the communication between scientists and the public." Read more »

Eliza Griswold receives Guggenheim fellowship

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 14:13:55 GMT

The Guggenheim Foundation announced its 2012 fellows Thursday, April 19. The 181 fellows included scientists, scholars, composers, visual artists and writers. Eliza Griswold, a 2007 Nieman Fellow, was among the 13 writers named as fellows in general nonfiction. Read more »

From Watergate to WikiLeaks: Journalism and Secrecy in the New Media Age

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 15:37:17 GMT

The WikiLeaks Iraq and Afghanistan war logs—and now the roll out of diplomatic cables—are having an enormous impact on journalism.

On December 16, 2010, the Nieman Foundation for Journalism convened a group of reporters and editors along with other watchdog experts for a one-day conference.

“From Watergate to WikiLeaks: Journalism and Secrecy in the New Media Age” explored how secrets are investigated, shared and filtered (or not) in an era of self-publishing, online whistle-blowing, data mining and social media websites.

Participants discussed journalism’s role—what it traditionally has been and what it can or should be in this new environment.

An Evening with Cartoonist and Journalist Joe Sacco

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 15:34:29 GMT

A presentation and discussion with award-winning cartoonist and journalist Joe Sacco. One of the most influential and best-known cartoonists working today, Sacco developed a unique form of journalism that combines on-the-scene reporting with graphic storytelling. His books include "Palestine," "Safe Area Goražde," "The Fixer" and "Footnotes in Gaza."

In conversation with journalist Chris Hedges, Sacco discussed his work and the challenges and rewards of practicing journalism in an unconventional medium. Sacco and Hedges have worked together in conflict zones overseas and are currently collaborating on a book about poverty in the United States. A Q&A session with the audience followed.

Global Interests / Local Failures

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 15:34:14 GMT

Peruvian miners turn rain forest into wastelands. Corruption and mismanagement keep West Africans from clean drinking water. These and other stories were heard from international journalists who are mapping the impact of globalization on people and the planet.

On Thursday evening, April 12, our panel discussed what it takes for journalists to accurately tell international stories that have economic, scientific, cultural, political and public health impact; and how these complex, global subjects are still being covered well, even as journalism reinvents itself online and via social media.

This program is part of the Nieman Foundation's collaboration with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting in Washington, D.C.

Bob Giles elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 15:00:12 GMT

Bob Giles, former curator of the Nieman Foundation and a 1966 Nieman Fellow, is among the 220 new members elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The 2012 class — which also includes Hilary Clinton, Melinda Gates, Clint Eastwood, Paul McCartney and Neil Simon — will be inducted at a ceremony on October 6 at the Academy’s headquarters in Cambridge. Read more »

Nieman alumni win 2012 Pulitzer Prizes

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 15:52:29 GMT

Ken Armstrong, NF ’01, and his colleague Michael J. Berens at The Seattle Times have won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting for “Methadone and the Politics of Pain.” The three-part series revealed how the state of Washington steered vulnerable Medicare patients away from relatively safe pain medication to methadone, a cheap but unpredictable painkiller linked to 2,173 fatal overdoses.

Reporters David Jackson, NF ’09, and Gary Marx of the Chicago Tribune were selected as finalists in the same category for “Fugitives from Justice,” which exposed a neglectful state justice system that allowed a number of dangerous criminals to evade trial for murder, rape and other violent felonies. Mary Schmich, NF ’96, also of the Chicago Tribune, won the Commentary Pulitzer “for her wide range of down-to-earth columns that reflect the character and capture the culture of her famed city.” Read more »

Nieman Fellows honored in spring award season

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 10:03:32 GMT

The work of a number of Nieman Fellows has been recognized recently with national journalism awards. Honored Niemans include Hui Siu Fun, NF ’11; Lisa Mullins, NF '10; David Jackson, NF ’09; James Causey, NF ’08; Ken Armstrong, NF ’01; and Melissa Ludtke, NF ’92. Read the full list of Nieman award-winners »

Daniel Rapoport dies at 79

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 11:03:10 GMT

Daniel Rapoport, a 1971 Nieman Fellow and longtime Washington journalist who started a publishing house which issued books that likely would never otherwise see print, died April 11. He was 79.

Thomas Sancton, pioneering journalist, dies at age 97

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 10:47:27 GMT

Thomas Sancton, a Southern journalist who was praised and condemned for his civil rights reporting in the 1940s and went on to become a teacher and novelist, died Friday, April 6. Sancton — a 1942 Nieman Fellow — was 97. Read more »

New owners bring Bill Marimow back to The Philadelphia Inquirer

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 09:56:33 GMT

Bill Marimow, a 1983 Nieman Fellow, is returning to The Philadelphia Inquirer. Marimow, a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist, was editor of the Inquirer from 2006 to October 2010, when he was removed from the position by publisher Greg Osberg the day before new owners took over. Read more »

Melanie Sill named new executive editor at KPCC

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 10:02:45 GMT

Melanie Sill, the former editor of The Sacramento Bee and The News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C., will be the new executive editor of KPCC's Southern California Public Radio. Sill is a 1994 Nieman Fellow. Read more »

Taylor Family Endows Award for Fairness in Newspapers

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 11:45:11 GMT

In an effort to encourage fairness in newspaper journalism and honor an exemplary example of fairness in news coverage, the former managers of The Boston Globe announced Monday the establishment of the Taylor Family Award for Fairness in Newspapers.

2012 Lukas Prize Project Awards Announced

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 12:49:24 GMT

Columbia Journalism School and the Nieman Foundation have named the winners of the 2012 Lukas Prize Project Awards. Vanderbilt University law professor Daniel Sharfstein has won the 2012 J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize for The Invisible Line: Three American Families and the Secret Journey from Black to White." The Mark Lynton History Prize goes to Sophia Rosenfeld, a University of Virginia professor, for Common Sense: A Political History. And Jonathan M. Katz, a former AP reporter and editor, is winner of the J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Award for The Big Truck That Went By: How the World Came to Save Haiti and Left Behind a Disaster." Read more »

Los Angeles Times wins Bingham Prize for “Billions to Spend”

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 16:04:48 GMT

The Los Angeles Times has won the 2011 Worth Bingham Prize for Investigative Journalism for its six-part series “Billions to Spend.” During an 18-month investigation, the paper found that a $5.7 billion program to rebuild Los Angeles’s nine community colleges was plagued with serious problems including mismanagement and reckless spending that wasted tens of millions of dollars and betrayed the public’s trust. The $20,000 Bingham Prize will be presented by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard in Cambridge, Mass., on April 19, 2012. Read more »

The News & Observer wins Taylor Family Award

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 09:56:30 GMT

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The News & Observer of Raleigh, N.C., has won the 2011 Taylor Family Award for Fairness in Newspapers for “Twisted Truth: A Prosecutor Under Fire,” a three-part series reported by J. Andrew Curliss about prosecutorial misconduct by Durham’s district attorney Tracey Cline.

Two finalists have also been selected for the Taylor Award: The Boston Globe for “Fishy Business,” a two-part series that documented the widespread mislabeling of fish sold and served in Massachusetts and the Asbury Park Press for “Deadly Decisions: Struggling to Understand,” a report on a cluster of suicides by teens and young adults in the Manasquan, New Jersey, area. Read more »

Drawing History Into Today's News

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 11:37:17 GMT

When Joe Sacco and Chris Hedges traveled to the Gaza Strip in 2001 for Harper’s magazine, they researched a little-known mass killing from 1956. But when the piece, written by Hedges and illustrated by Sacco, was published, editors had cut the entire section about Israeli soldiers killing hundreds of Palestinians during the Suez crisis.

That snub inspired “Footnotes in Gaza,” Sacco’s celebrated 2009 long-form comic book. Shifting back and forth between 1956 and the present day, he describes the killings of nearly 400 Palestinians in the neighboring towns of Khan Younis and Rafah. Read more »

Watch a slideshow »

Ken Armstrong, NF ’01, wins Selden Ring Award

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 12:23:30 GMT

Ken Armstrong, NF ’01, and Michael J. Berens of The Seattle Times have won the 2012 Selden Ring Award for Investigative Reporting, for their three-part series “Methadone and the Politics of Pain.” The award is presented annually by the School of Journalism at USC Annenberg. Selden Ring Award judges commended the reporters for their “thorough and groundbreaking reporting on how more than 2,000 people in Washington state have fatally overdosed on the painkiller methadone. ‘Methadone and the Politics of Pain’ showed how the state steered Medicaid patients toward methadone despite repeated warnings about its risks. The drug saved the state money because it is a cheap painkiller, but poor patients paid for the savings with their lives.”

Berens won the 2010 Worth Bingham Prize for Investigative Journalism, presented by the Nieman Foundation, for his series “Seniors for Sale: Exploiting the aged and frail in Washington's adult family homes” Armstrong won the Bingham Prize in 2001 as part of a team at the Chicago Tribune for “Cops and Confessions” and received honorable mention in 2008 for his Seattle Times series with Nick Perry “Victory and Ruins.” Read more »

Remembering Anthony Shadid

Tue, 08 May 2012 15:01:59 GMT

When foreign correspondent Anthony Shadid presented the Joe Alex Morris, Jr. Lecture at the Nieman Foundation in 2004, he spoke eloquently about the many challenges of filing from war-torn Iraq, the changing nature of reporting in the Middle East and the growing importance of maintaining journalistic independence – themes that are as relevant today as they were eight years ago.

Shadid died of an apparent asthma attack in Syria on February 16 after two decades as a Middle East correspondent, working for The Associated Press, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post – where he won Pulitzer Prizes in 2004 and 2010 – and finally, The New York Times. He is being remembered for his exceptional storytelling, insight and courage.

No stranger to danger, he was shot in the shoulder while reporting in Ramallah in 2002. Last March, he was kidnapped along with three other Times journalists in Libya, where they were held for six days and beaten. His new book “House of Stone: A Memoir of Home, Family, and a Lost Middle East,” will be released on Feb. 28. Learn more »

Nieman Fellows who knew Anthony Shadid reflect on his life:

Rami Khouri, NF ’02, internationally syndicated columnist, author and editor at large of the Daily Star in Beirut, Lebanon
Charles Sennott, NF ’06, executive editor and co-founder of GlobalPost

Reporter Andrea McCarren, NF ’07, fends off social media attacks

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:28:28 GMT

Andrea McCarren, a 2007 Nieman Fellow and reporter for WUSA 9 in Washington, D.C., was forced to stay off the air recently after teenagers upset with her reports on underage drinking took to Twitter and Facebook to post hostile messages. When her own children were bullied at school, McCarren had a colleague report two of her stories. Despite the backlash, WUSA says 99 percent of the feedback it has received about McCarren’s reports has been positive and McCarren herself plans to continue her series, saying the problem of underage age drinking is simply too big to ignore.

Listen to McCarren discuss the collision of journalism and social media on CBS This Morning »