Critical Condition: Why Professional Criticism Matters in the Winter 2013 issue of Nieman Reports, examines how professional criticism can not only survive but thrive in the age of user reviews. As Nieman deputy curator James Geary points out in his introduction, “criticism’s condition is critical—to informing and inspiring the public and to keeping our cultural conversations alive.” Read more
Beth Macy, NF ’10, has won a Society of American Business Editors and Writers award for her three-part Roanoke Times series Picking Up the Pieces. Her reports examine how globalization has ravaged manufacturing in parts of Virginia and what communities are doing to try to recover. In the town of Martinsville alone, unemployment is estimated to be as high as 35 percent. 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
Three Nieman alumni have won George Polk Awards in Journalism for their work in 2012: Holly Williams, NF ’08, Hannah Allam, NF ’09, and Michael Kirk, NF ’80. Read more
Peter Wolodarski, NF ’09, has been named as the new editor-in-chief of Sweden’s largest morning newspaper, Dagens Nyheter (DN). He will assume his new role on March 1. Wolodarski has been working as the paper’s editorial page editor. He will continue to write a Sunday column for DN. Read more
French documentary filmmakers Florence Martin-Kessler, NF ’11, and Anne Poiret have spent the last few years chronicling South Sudan’s rocky road to independence and the many challenges along the way. Catch a sneak preview of their feature-length documentary “State Builders” in the New York Times Op-Doc section and learn “How to Build a Country From Scratch.” State Builders will air later this year on the European cultural television channel ARTE. Read more
