Two journalists at Nieman Lab, the Nieman Foundation’s publication covering digital innovation and change in journalism, are moving into new roles beginning on July 1, 2020.
Deputy editor Laura Hazard Owen will become editor, overseeing day-to-day operations and strategic planning. After 12 years as Nieman Lab’s director, Joshua Benton will return to reporting as a senior writer covering news about the rapidly changing industry.
Through its reporting, research and analysis, Nieman Lab has become a must-read for a global audience of journalists, media executives, academics, technologists and anyone else interested in the digital transformation of journalism.
“Since its founding, Nieman Lab has played a critical role in chronicling a journalism revolution,” said Nieman Foundation curator Ann Marie Lipinski. “Under Laura’s direction, the Lab will grow its coverage to be ever more indispensable to its readers. Josh’s smart reporting and writing will be key to that coverage.”
“Newsrooms are facing unprecedented internal and external challenges,” Owen said. “Nieman Lab will continue to focus on digital innovation. We’ll also increase our exploration of other ways that journalism is changing.”
Owen joined Nieman Lab in 2015 from Gigaom, where she served as managing editor. For the past three years, she has written a column on research into misinformation and related areas. She is a graduate of Harvard University.
“I’m excited to pass the baton after 12 years to Laura, who will do a tremendous job for the many readers around the world who count on us,” said Benton, who was named director of the Lab at its founding in 2008. “And after editing more than 8,000 Nieman Lab stories by more than 700 writers, I am thrilled to have more time to report and write.”
Before launching Nieman Lab, Benton was a reporter, columnist, foreign correspondent and rock critic for The Dallas Morning News and The Toledo Blade, as well as an early blogger and web developer in the 1990s. He was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard during 2007-08.
In addition to Owen and Benton, the Lab team includes staff writers Sarah Scire and Hanaa’ Tameez.