Be the disruptor. That’s the clear message in the cover story for the new Fall issue of Nieman Reports in which renowned Harvard Business School professor Clayton M. Christensen, Canadian journalist David Skok, NF ’12, and Harvard Business Review contributor James Allworth apply Christensen’s theory of disruptive innovation to the news industry. By examining why and how successful businesses are undermined by start-ups, they tackle the issue so many news executives have tried to better understand: how to find viable revenue streams for journalism and alter outdated operational strategies for continued success. Read more
The Nieman Watchdog Project was launched in 1996, animated by a singular goal: to examine and invigorate journalism in its fundamental role of serving the public interest. The Watchdog Project—funded by 1950 Nieman Fellow Murrey Marder, a former diplomatic correspondent for The Washington Post—has been an important and enduring feature of Harvard’s Nieman Foundation for Journalism, and one that has evolved to address emerging issues in accountability journalism. Read more
“Truth in the Age of Social Media,” the Summer 2012 issue of Nieman Reports, is attracting notice. Among the readers weighing in: The Poynter Institute's Craig Silverman, his Poynter colleague Bill Mitchell, NYU journalism professor Jay Rosen, and Patrick Meier on his iRevolution blog. Read more
The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard 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
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
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. Read more
Addressing the growing need for fresh ideas and research in news reporting, the Nieman Foundation and the Berkman Center for Internet & Society announce the creation of the joint Nieman-Berkman Fellowship in Journalism Innovation. Read more
The Nieman Foundation’s 2011 Annual Report is now online. The report chronicles the many events that took place during the past year and features information about new developments at the foundation; conferences and partnerships; specialized fellowships and the fellowship experience; updates on our print and online publications; Nieman journalism awards — and much more. Read more
Nieman Foundation curator Bob Giles retired at the end of June after 11 years on the job. During his tenure, he found new ways to strengthen the Nieman Fellowship program and expand the foundation’s critical role in discussions about the future of serious journalism. Giles recently reflected on his time at Harvard and began by describing what it has been like to lead the Nieman Foundation for more than a decade. Read more
Two Latin American journalists will receive Nieman Fellowships to help them discover new ways to inform and engage their communities and foster a free press in their own countries, thanks to a new grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to the Nieman Foundation. The funding expands the scope of the long-established Knight Latin American Nieman Fellowship by supporting new experimental fieldwork projects for the journalists at the end of the academic year, with a new grant of almost $200,000. Read more