The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard has announced the named fellowships for the Nieman class of 2020. These fellowships are supported by foundation grants and endowed funds that provide important financial assistance to journalists from the United States and abroad.
Three journalists have been selected as the 2020 Abrams Nieman Fellows for Local Investigative Journalism. Following an academic year of study at Harvard, they will conduct fieldwork on a public service reporting project and participate in specialized journalism education. The Abrams Fellows are supported by a generous grant from the Abrams Foundation. They are Matthew Dolan, an investigative reporter for the Detroit Free Press; Johnny Kauffman, a reporter at the public radio station WABE in Atlanta; and Tennessee Watson, an education reporter with Wyoming Public Radio.
Gülsin Harman, a freelance reporter at The New York Times Istanbul bureau, has been chosen for the 2020 Robert L. Long Nieman Fellowship, established to support the work of exceptional Turkish journalists.
Natalia Guerrero, a New York-based Columbian-American contributor to the BBC, is the 2020 Knight Latin American Nieman Fellow. The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has funded more than 50 Nieman Fellowships for journalists from Latin America since 1981.
Two journalists will join the class as the 2020 Nieman-Berkman Klein Fellows in Journalism Innovation. The fellowship is a collaborative project supported by the Nieman Foundation and the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard and is designed to generate new ideas to advance quality journalism in the digital age.
The Nieman-Berkman Klein Fellows are Hannane Fedjani, a lead presenter and producer for the Africanews channel in the Republic of the Congo and the first Nieman Fellow from Niger; and Todd Wallack, an investigative and data reporter for The Boston Globe’s Spotlight Team.
Ferdjani additionally has been selected as the Barry Bingham Jr. Nieman Fellow. Bingham, a 1956 Harvard graduate, was the editor and publisher of the Courier-Journal and Louisville Times.
Wallack is also one of two Murrey Marder Nieman Fellows in Watchdog Journalism. The fellowship honors the memory of Murrey Marder, a longtime Washington Post reporter and 1950 Nieman Fellow who funded and helped found the Nieman Watchdog Project.
The other 2020 Marder Fellow is Andras Petho, an editor and reporter for Direkt36, an investigative journalism center in Hungary.
Robert Chaney, a staff writer who covers natural resources and science at the Missoulian newspaper in Montana is the Harry M. Davis Nieman Fellow in Science Journalism. The fellowship honors Harry Davis, a science journalist and Nieman Fellow in the class of 1941.
Rania Abouzeid, a Beirut-based journalist and author, and Alex Dickinson, an Australian digital newsroom leader who most recently was executive managing editor of Gizmodo Media Group, are the 2020 Ruth Cowan Nash Nieman Fellows. Nash was best known for her work as an Associated Press war correspondent during World War II. She also served as a president of the Washington Press Club.
Malas Nour, a Wall Street Journal reporter based in Los Angeles, is the Louis Stark Nieman Fellow. The fellowship honors the memory of the New York Times reporter who was a pioneer in the field of labor reporting.
Ji Tianqin, a chief writer for Caixin Media in China, is the Atsuko Chiba Nieman Fellow. The Chiba fellowship honors the memory of Atsuko Chiba, a 1968 Nieman Fellow from Japan.
Ashwaq Masoodi, most recently a national writer for the Indian financial daily Mint, is the Robert Waldo Ruhl Nieman Fellow. Ruhl, a 1903 Harvard graduate, was editor and publisher of the Medford Mail-Tribune in Oregon from 1911-1967.
Karyn Pugliese, an assistant professor of journalism at Ryerson University and until recently, executive director of news and current affairs at the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network in Winnipeg, is the Martin Wise Goodman Canadian Nieman Fellow. The fellowship is sponsored by the Martin Wise Goodman Trust. A 1962 Nieman Fellow, Goodman was president of Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd.
Pavel Kanygin, a correspondent for Novaya Gazeta in Moscow, is the Carroll Binder Nieman Fellow. The Binder Fund honors 1916 Harvard graduate Carroll Binder, who expanded the Chicago Daily News Foreign Service, and his son, Carroll “Ted” Binder, a 1943 Harvard graduate.
Obey Manayiti a senior investigative reporter at Alpha Media Holdings in Zimbabwe, is the William Montalbano Nieman Fellow. Montalbano was a 1970 Nieman Fellow and a prize-winning Los Angeles Times reporter who reported from 100 countries during his 38-year career.
The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard educates leaders in journalism and elevates the standards of the profession through special programs that convene scholars and experts in all fields. More than 1,600 journalists from 98 countries have been awarded Nieman Fellowships since 1938. The foundation’s other initiatives include Nieman Reports, a print and online magazine that covers thought leadership in journalism; Nieman Lab, a website that reports on the future of news, innovation and best practices in the digital media age; and Nieman Storyboard, a website that showcases exceptional narrative journalism and explores the future of nonfiction storytelling.