Nieman Reports

Nieman Reports, the Nieman Foundation’s quarterly magazine about journalism, reaches a global audience in print and online at www.niemanreports.org. Its stories are told by journalists who write about personal experiences they’ve had that underscore many of the profession’s core challenges and opportunities. In 2009, the magazine explored diverse and timely topics that struck a deep cord with readers:

Spring 2009: “Voyages of Discovery Into New Media” This edition of the magazine provided a first-hand look inside several pioneering news Web sites at a time when journalists were beginning to assess the viability of the nonprofit business model for news. The issue also contained the fourth installment in the “21st Century Muckrakers” series, which highlighted the work of investigative journalists digging into medical and health issues as well as reflective essays on climate change and politics, photojournalists in Afghanistan, and coverage of the economic meltdown.
Summer 2009: “Iran: Can Its Stories Be Told?” Stories from this issue appeared on our Web site during the tumultuous week of Iran’s presidential election in June. Through partnerships with a number of other Web sites featuring coverage of Iran, the content garnered attention and praise for its relevance and breadth of insight. The fifth and final part of the “21st Century Muckrakers” series—spotlighting investigative reporting on public health, public safety, and public trust—also appeared in this issue along with essays on books about journalism.
Fall 2009: “Let’s Talk: Journalism and Social Media” In this issue, we provided a provocative look at how emerging social media tools are being used by journalists and the impact they are having on the practice of journalism. When the issue was posted online, we spread word about its contents through our new Facebook page and Twitter account. Contributors, bloggers and other Web sites also passed along links to spread information and commentary about various articles in the issue. This edition also offered essays on topics ranging from Afghanistan to the emergence of Netroots and from Cold War spies to foreign news reporting.
Winter 2009: “Trauma in the Aftermath: Voice, Story, Character and Journalism” Published in December, this issue highlights this year’s Nieman Foundation/Dart Center conference, “Aftermath: Journalism, storytelling and the impact of tragedy and violence” and features additional articles written by journalists about this topic. Online, visitors can listen to supplemental audio clips from conference and view photo essays and a slideshow featuring the contributions of four photojournalists.



Social Media Tools

Because back issues of Nieman Reports are archived in HTML format, articles dating back to the Summer 2000 edition can be read, commented on and digitally distributed via social media. Earlier issues of the magazine, which are available in the Nieman Reports archive as PDF files, are being converted to HTML over time.


Professor’s Corner

In early August, Nieman Reports launched its redesigned Professor’s Corner page, and spread word about the new and improved site to j-school faculty attending the annual Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) conference in Boston. An article about Professor’s Corner and its value as a resource for j-school faculty and students appeared in the November issue of the AEJMC newsletter.





In addition to featuring articles from the current issue of Nieman Reports that relate most directly to journalism school concerns, other elements of Professor’s Corner include:

 


Across the Web

Located on the home page of each online issue of Nieman Reports, our “Across the Web” feature provides links to contemporary coverage of the topics that appear in each edition or to stories written by our contributors for other publications. Fresh links are posted often and older ones are archived to create a valuable resource for those interested in tracking coverage of important journalism issues.


Digital Newsbooks

As a member of the Digital Publishing Alliance based at the Reynolds Journalism Institute at the University of Missouri, Nieman Reports has created and published four Digital Newsbooks for use in j-school classrooms on a variety of mobile digital platforms. As the marketplace for various e-readers expands, more universities and colleges are encouraging students to purchase textbooks and curricula materials online. Our Digital Newsbooks are:

  1. The Search for True North: New Directions in a New Territory

  2. 21st Century Muckrakers

  3. Voyages of Discovery Into New Media

  4. Let’s Talk: Journalism and Social Media

These Digital Newsbooks are available for sale through two Web sites:


– Melissa Ludtke
Editor, Nieman Reports