Nieman announces named fellowships for the class of 2016

The Nieman Foundation today announced all named fellowships for the Nieman class of 2016. These fellowships are supported by foundation grants and endowed funds that provide financial assistance to journalists from the United States and abroad. For the first time, Nieman will award the Anja Niedringhaus Nieman Fellowship for Visual Journalism to documentary photographer Andrea Bruce, whose work brings attention to people living in war and its aftermath as well as the social issues that are sometimes ignored and often ignited in war’s wake. The fellowship honors the memory of 2007 Nieman Fellow and AP photographer Anja Niedringhaus, who was shot and killed while on assignment in Afghanistan in the spring of 2014.
The Nieman Foundation today announced all named fellowships for the Nieman class of 2016. These fellowships are supported by foundation grants and endowed funds that provide financial assistance to journalists from the United States and abroad.

For the first time, Nieman will award the Anja Niedringhaus Nieman Fellowship for Visual Journalism to documentary photographer Andrea Bruce, whose work brings attention to people living in war and its aftermath as well as the social issues that are sometimes ignored and often ignited in war’s wake. The fellowship honors the memory of 2007 Nieman Fellow and AP photographer Anja Niedringhaus, who was shot and killed while on assignment in Afghanistan in the spring of 2014.

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation will support Fabiano Maisonnave, a senior reporter and editorial writer for Folha de S.Paulo, Brazil’s largest newspaper, as the 2016 Knight Latin American Nieman Fellow. Knight has funded more than 50 Nieman Fellowships for journalists from Latin America since 1981.

Fungai Tichawangana, managing editor of Zimbo Jam, Zimbabwe’s leading arts and culture website, is the 2016 Nieman-Berkman Fellow in Journalism Innovation. The fellowship is a collaboration between the Nieman Foundation and the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard and is designed to generate new ideas to advance quality journalism in the digital age. Tichawangana also is the Barry Bingham Jr. Nieman Fellow. Bingham, a 1956 Harvard graduate, was the editor and publisher of the Courier-Journal and Louisville Times.

Two fellows have been named as 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 2016 Marder Fellows are:

  • Mariah Blake, a Washington, D.C.-based journalist who most recently worked as a senior reporter for Mother Jones, focusing on investigative and enterprising reporting.

  • Christine Willmsen, an investigative journalist at The Seattle Times, where she writes about social injustice, government malfeasance, environmental issues and criminal justice.


The Nieman Foundation has selected two Ruth Cowan Nash Nieman Fellows. Nash was best known for her work as an Associated Press war correspondent during World War II. The 2016 Nash Fellows are:

  • Hamish Macdonald, an international affairs correspondent for ABC News

  • Anastasia Taylor-Lind, a London-based photographer whose work focuses largely on women, birth rights, population and war


Wenxin Fan, a Shanghai-based reporter for Bloomberg News, will receive fellowship support through the Marco Polo Program of Sovereign Bank and Banco Santander.

The fellowship for Tim de Gier, head of digital and a staff writer for the Dutch magazine Vrij Nederland, is partially funded by a grant from the Democracy & Media Foundation (Stichting Democratie en Media) in Amsterdam.

Wendi C. Thomas, a columnist for The Memphis Flyer whose work explores racial justice and economic inequality, 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.

Todd Pitman, bureau chief for The Associated Press in Bangkok, is the Atsuko Chiba Nieman Fellow. The Chiba fellowship honors the memory of Atsuko Chiba, a 1968 Nieman Fellow from Japan.

Naomi Darom, a writer at Musaf Haaretz, the weekend magazine for Haaretz newspaper in Israel, 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.

Cansu Çamlibel, a writer and senior diplomatic correspondent for the Turkish daily Hürriyet, 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.

Grzegorz Piechota, head of the Innovation Lab at Gazeta Wyborcza, the leading daily in Poland and Eastern Europe, 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.

Stephen Maher, a columnist with Postmedia News in Ottawa, Canada, is the Martin Wise Goodman Canadian Nieman Fellow. Goodman was a 1962 Nieman Fellow and president of Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd.

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 1,400 journalists from 93 countries have been awarded Nieman Fellowships since 1938. The foundation’s other initiatives include Nieman Reports, a quarterly print and online magazine that covers thought leadership in journalism; Nieman Journalism 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.