Two recent Nieman Fellows have been awarded Dart Center Ochberg Fellowships by the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. Maggie Jones, NF ’12, a contributing writer at The New York Times Magazine and Finbarr O’Reilly, NF ’13, a Reuters staff photographer based in West Africa, will join 10 other journalists to deepen their reporting of violence, conflict and tragedy. Read more
The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard has published its first fully illustrated and commercially available e-book, “The Gates of Harvard Yard: The Complete Story, Words and Pictures, of a Great University’s Iconic Portals.” Read more
In a new interview with Harvard Magazine, Pulitzer-Prize winning author and Chicago Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin explains what drew him to research the 25 wrought-iron gates of Harvard. His interest in the subject as a 2013 Nieman fellow turned into a January-term class for undergraduates and ultimately, a new Nieman e-book, “The Gates of Harvard Yard: The Complete Story, in Words and Pictures, of a Great University’s Iconic Portals,” which is due out in August.
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Hamad bin Isa al Khalifa, King of Bahrain, came to the throne in 1999. Since then, he has expanded the rights of women, modernized his country, and established Bahrain as a financial center in the region. Two years ago, on February 14, 2011, several thousand demonstrators gathered in the Bahraini capital, Manama, to demand more popular political participation and reform. To many Western commentators and journalists, it was a sign that the Arab Spring was spreading to the Gulf countries. Read more
Two Nieman fellows have been selected as finalists for the 2012 Pulitzer Prizes. Judges recognized Tony Bartelme, NF’11, and Alexandra Garcia, NF'13. Read more
Twitter coverage of the manhunt in Watertown marks a wake-up call to journalists everywhere. Even more remarkable are the implications for ordinary citizens who, without a press pass, intentionally plant themselves on the scene to witness and tweet what they see in real time. For the latter group of news gatherers, this event instills a newfound sense of power and responsibility in how they verify and disseminate news; i.e., gain credibility and authority as a news source. Read more
In a breaking news situation, journalists get an adrenaline rush. There is a palpable eagerness to get the scoop, to be the first to bring the story to the public. In today's world of social media, mobile phones, and real-time 24/7 news cycle, though, journalists face competition from all sides: eyewitness accounts, official sources, and even friends and family are sharing news before mainstream news institutions have "published" the official news story. Read more
As part of his Nieman Fellowship, Boston Globe reporter David Abel is taking a class on how to make documentary films. Yesterday he was working on his final project, about Juli Windsor, the first dwarf to run the Boston Marathon. He woke up at 5 o'clock in the morning and went to film Windsor getting ready, then took the bus with her to Hopkinton, where the race starts. He was standing on the finish line, shooting footage of all the runners coming across and waiting for Windsor to come in when the bombs went off. Read more
The explosions at the Boston Marathon made front-page news around the world, with Líberation in Paris, El País in Madrid, and The Jerusalem Post in Israel carrying coverage from 2013 Nieman Fellows Ludovic Blecher, Borja Echevarria, and Yaakov Katz, respectively. Read more
Souad Mekhennet, NF ’13, reports on the state of reform in Bahrain two years after the Arab Spring: “Western politicians, the public, and political organizations were quick to take the side of those who went on the street and protested. Some of them genuinely wanted democracy, but many were actually protesting against corruption or for more rights and resources. And, anyway, not everyone who claimed to be protesting for democracy was talking about rights and values but about voting systems.” Read more
