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Skeptical about Internet | A journalist talks about life after buy-outs COMMENTARY Eugene L. Meyer, a former Washington Post reporter and editor, took the first of four buyouts several years ago. Here’s his take on the news business, past, present and future. 
Not just a ‘new media’ problem | Taking steps to deal with media parasitism COMMENTARY As non-profit journalism grows in importance, donors and practitioners should adopt and enforce standards that give credit to sources instead of pilfering their ideas and riding roughshod over them.
Finding flackery | An online group, the Center for Media and Democracy, stays on the lookout for spin SHOWCASE The public-interest, non-profit organization exposes fake news and PR twisting of events. It works directly with reporters who request help. Sounds like a good resource for journalists.
A problem in giving credit where credit is due | Free riding: a deeply embedded media tradition COMMENTARY Scholar J.H. Snider balks on hearing new media practitioners characterized as parasites or leeches and reaches deep down to expose longstanding, not very upfront behavior on the part of old media reporters and editors. (First of two parts)
From Nieman Reports | Now you see it, now you don’t: The disappearing act of foreign news coverage COMMENTARY McClatchy will have someone in Iran to cover the upcoming elections but it’s a financial balancing act – it means canceling a different overseas assignment. But that's preferable to the more extreme steps being taken by some news organizations.
6 trends emerge | The State of the News Media: Bleak COMMENTARY The sixth annual report by the Project for Excellence in Journalism sees 2008 as the bleakest year yet. “It’s not an audience problem or a credibility problem…it’s a revenue problem,” the report says.
| Underplayed, overlooked or just plain missing SHOWCASE Foreign Policy magazine puts out a list of “the 10 top stories you missed in 2008.”
Spinning scandal | Networks should replace Pentagon cheerleaders with independent military analysts COMMENTARY Even without special Pentagon briefings and corrupting financial relationships, former top military brass simply are too conflicted to be relied upon for tough-minded analysis, writes a former Air Force officer.
Q&A | Local papers find their inner watchdogs SHOWCASE Even as their newsrooms shrink, local and regional newspapers are falling in love with watchdog reporting all over again. Accountability journalism differentiates them, connects them with readers, and reminds people why journalism deserves some of their attention every day. Orange County Register Watchdog blogger Teri Sforza tells her story.
Panel transcript | 'Has the press become, less skeptical, less insurgent?' SHOWCASE A transcript of a panel discussion held Oct. 7 in conjunction with the presentation of the I.F. Stone Medal for Journalistic Independence.
Panel trancript | 'Has the press become, less skeptical, less insurgent?' (Part two) SHOWCASE A transcript of a panel discussion held Oct. 7 in conjunction with the presentation of the I.F. Stone Medal for Journalistic Independence. (Part two of two.)
A wake-up call for journalists | A court case of vital importance COMMENTARY The decision in Wyeth v. Levine could determine whether documents that expose massive, lethal misconduct are accessible to reporters and the public.
Skills in demand are Web-related | The shrinking newspaper COMMENTARY A Project for Excellence in Journalism report shows more of the same: more staff cuts, less newshole, less foreign coverage, less copy editing. But many editors surveyed see improvements in the product.
Toolbox | The History Commons -- an online tool for journalists SHOWCASE Individuals do research to create aggregated, searchable timelines for major events and stories, creating a resource for reporters and editors.
Rove as pundit? Par for the course | Yes, freedom of speech protects vicious liars COMMENTARY But there are standards, or at least there should be. Morton Mintz wants the owners and managers of news organizations to hold their talk show hosts and others accountable. And he wants journalism trade groups and J-schools to get in the act.
Free Press convention in Minneapolis | Rather, Moyers see deterioration in news coverage COMMENTARY Rather: Under today's corporate ownership the incentive to produce a good report isn’t there; Moyers says the press in many respects colludes with those in power.
| Media consolidation seen as ‘almost unAmerican’ COMMENTARY FCC commissioner Adelstein, others attack mergers and express optimism about change in Washington in 2009.
Coverage of Day One | Media Reform conference opens in Minneapolis COMMENTARY Focus in part is on charges of failure of corporate-owned media to fulfill the press’s watchdog role and on concern over threats of telecom control of Internet content, speed and pricing. Includes speeches by Dan Rather and Bill Moyers.
An international research project | The media as watchdogs, agenda-setters and gate-keepers SHOWCASE Harvard and the World Bank host academics seeking to determine the press’s role in governance and in strengthening democracies.
| The press and the presidency: Silencing the watchdog COMMENTARY Retired Washington Post diplomatic reporter Murrey Marder writes that George W. Bush is unparalleled among presidents for the way he has set out to discredit the press as a watchdog of government.
| A tribute to a journalism innovator, and a look at the Internet SHOWCASE On the occasion of the retirement of Phil Meyer, the University of North Carolina's journalism school holds a two-day symposium pondering what the Internet hath wrought.
Multimedia | An online version of 'Bush's War' SHOWCASE In addition to the current two-part, 4-1/2-hour documentary, Frontline has an extensive online component. Among other things, it presents 175 video clips and transcripts of more than 400 interviews.
Burying the news | Newspaper Web sites and White House disinformation COMMENTARY The Wall Street Journal print edition didn’t mention a recent report that cited more than 935 false statements by top Administration officials. The Journal’s Web site, however, not only mentioned the report—it attacked it. (Second of two parts.)
Burying the news | If 935 falsehoods fall from the White House, do the news media hear them? COMMENTARY Morton Mintz asks: If the president and top aides who made nearly 1,000 false statements to take us into war had been Democrats, would two national papers, the TV networks, the news magazines, and every newspaper in 33 states have ignored it? (First of two parts)
A country shut down | Filing reports from Burma between gunshots SHOWCASE For a while, reports from Rangoon flowed out via cell phones and email. Now it is pretty much blacked out, says the editor of Irrawaddy, a news magazine based in Thailand.
Where’s the vigilance? | Have business reporters lost their souls? COMMENTARY How did the business press miss the unraveling of the subprime mortgage market? Martin Lobel writes that news organizations cover business like a horse race these days -- and have forgotten that a vigilant concern for the lot of the little guy, for the greater good, and for economic justice is what leads to the most important financial journalism.
Questions about media behavior | Why is it OK for the coal industry to break the law? ASK THIS Often after accidents like the one at Crandall Canyon, Utah, mine operators claim their mines had relatively few violations. Even if that's true -- and often it isn't -- 'relatively few' just isn’t good enough in a risky venture like coal mining, says Charleston Gazette reporter Ken Ward, Jr.
No compromise with integrity | What Nelson Poynter can teach the Bancrofts COMMENTARY Shouldn’t the standards of news media ownership, as spelled out by Poynter in 1947, apply today? For starters, those standards include looking at a media property as a sacred trust and a great privilege.
An absence of inquiry | Giles urges TV reporters to ask tougher questions COMMENTARY TV has an edge over print in that it can take viewers along for the interview. But too often, writes the Nieman Foundation curator, American TV reporters accept evasive, reluctant answers without pressing for more. Why not follow the British model of tough interviewing?
Databases provided | Tracking the rise of the political consultants SHOWCASE In a helpful bit of journalism, the Center for Public Integrity reports that some 600 political consultants got paid $1.78 billion by candidates for election in 2004. A lot of it went to TV ads—but there was a lot left over, also.
A Nieman Watchdog survey | A 2nd look at covering the 2006 elections DISCUSSIONS A survey we did in June is timely right now as editors and reporters focus on the November election campaign. Here is what 28 past Nieman fellows had to say about what’s wrong with recent past coverage (too much he-said, she-said leads the list), and some suggestions for what should be done.
Extra! Extra! | American watchdog reporting roundup SHOWCASE Exposing the hidden history of racial expulsions, questionable policies at the Federal Air Marshal Service and organic food standards
Whose national security? | Hey, hey LBJ, got any secrets to give away? SHOWCASE Personal history: Veteran military affairs reporter George Wilson tells how Lyndon Johnson used classified information for PR purposes, and how, in a secret court session, Wilson thwarted attorneys for Nixon who were trying to block release of the Pentagon Papers.
The overseas press | The Economist, others say Bush just doesn't get it COMMENTARY The handling of suicides at Guantanamo, the killing of Zarqawi and Bush’s trip to Baghdad are linked by foreign news organizations and widely seen as gross PR efforts
Watchdog survey | Some Asian Nieman fellows are highly critical of the American press DISCUSSIONS This is the beginning of Part 2 – the international section – of a special Nieman Watchdog feature marking our second anniversary online. It focuses on views of the U.S. in Asia, as reported by ten past Nieman fellows.
Watchdog survey | Even the high regard for the American people is taking a hit DISCUSSIONS View from Africa and Oceania: in the third of four worldwide reports, Nieman fellows say displeasure with the American government is leaching over into a sense of dismay about the American people themselves.
Daniel Samper, Spain | A strong anti-Bush feeling DISCUSSIONS| June 09, 2006 1981 Nieman fellow from Colombia; now a free-lance writer in Spain
Kirsty Milne, Great Britain | 'Special arrangement' seen as a delusion DISCUSSIONS| June 09, 2006 2004 Nieman fellow, Great Britain; visiting scholar, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies at Harvard
Pekka Mykkänen, Finland | Because of Iraq, 2 prime ministers had to go DISCUSSIONS| June 09, 2006 2003 Nieman fellow; Helsingin Sanomat
Agnes Bragadóttir, Iceland | Suffering badly in the propaganda wars DISCUSSIONS| June 09, 2006 1988 Nieman fellow; senior business writer, Morgunbladid, Reykjavik, Iceland
Alice Tatah, Cameroon | Doesn’t get much better – or worse – than this DISCUSSIONS| June 07, 2006 2006 Nieman fellow; journalist, Cameroon Radio and Television Corporation, Yaounde
Philippa Green, Johannesburg | Unity in South Africa…against the U.S. DISCUSSIONS| June 07, 2006 1999 Nieman fellow; head, SABC Radio News, South African Broadcasting Corp., Johannesburg
Ton Vosloo, Cape Town | The U.S. is winning no friends DISCUSSIONS| June 07, 2006 1971 Nieman fellow; chairman of Naspers, a South African Pay TV and Internet subscriber platform service
John Geddes, Ottawa | Wary of the government; at one with the people DISCUSSIONS| June 05, 2006 2003 Nieman fellow; Ottawa bureau chief, Maclean’s
Douglas Leiterman, Toronto | 'U.S. has borne the burdens of the free world' DISCUSSIONS| June 05, 2006 1954 Nieman fellow, semi-retired, formerly parliamentary reporter, documentary producer, broadcaster.
Monica Flores Correa, Argentina | ‘Mistrust of the U.S. has ballooned’ DISCUSSIONS| June 05, 2006 1990 Nieman fellow; former U.S. correspondent of Pagina 12, Argentina; now living in Brooklyn and teaching Spanish and literature
Claudia Antunes, Rio | A sharp decline in favorable views of the ‘big guy’ DISCUSSIONS| June 05, 2006 2006 Nieman fellow, Folha de Sao Paolo, deputy bureau chief, Rio
Arben Kallamata, Mississauga | In ‘Immigrantsville,’ U.S. media seen as propagandists DISCUSSIONS| June 05, 2006 1993 Nieman fellow from Albania, now a free-lance writer in the Toronto area
Dina Fernandez Garcia, Guatemala | U.S. is ‘a dream of hope and opportunity’ DISCUSSIONS| June 05, 2006 2003 Nieman fellow; columnist for Prensa Libre in Guatemala and La Hora in Ecuador
William French, Toronto | Something less than a love-hate relationship DISCUSSIONS| June 05, 2006 1955 Nieman fellow; retired from the Globe and Mail
Bill Schiller, Toronto | America under Bush is almost unrecognizable DISCUSSIONS| June 05, 2006 2006 Nieman fellow, was foreign editor at the Toronto Star and previously the Star’s correspondent in Johannesburg, Berlin and London before his Nieman year
Ramindar Singh, Mumbai, India | Let down by the ‘crumbling’ of the U.S news media DISCUSSIONS| May 31, 2006 Ramindar Singh, 1982 Nieman fellow; former resident editor, The Times of India, currently president, Hinduja Group, India
Charles Sherman | For political comedy, try a little humor DISCUSSIONS| May 27, 2006 1983 Nieman fellow; editor-in-chief, Joong-ang Daily News, Seoul
Katherine Harting | Let people know reporters’ rules of conduct DISCUSSIONS| May 27, 2006 1979 Nieman fellow; ABC Evening News producer, Washington, D.C., on leave and currently a Ph. D. student and media specialist at the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore.
Bill McIlwain | Deal with distortions QUICKLY DISCUSSIONS| May 27, 2006 1958 Nieman fellow; retired, former editor of Newsday and New York Newsday, as well as several other big papers
Geneva Overholser | No pack reporting, please DISCUSSIONS| May 27, 2006 1986 Nieman fellow; Hurley Chair in Public Affairs Reporting, Missouri School of Journalism/Washington, D.C., bureau
Bill Graves | A political and news media plutocracy DISCUSSIONS| May 26, 2006 1999 Nieman fellow, Nieman Class of 1999; education writer, the Oregonian
Edwin Guthman | 'More investigative work is needed, full time' DISCUSSIONS| May 26, 2006 1951 Nieman fellow; senior lecturer, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Southern California
Peter Almond | Where's the adversarial reporting? DISCUSSIONS| May 26, 2006 1981 Nieman Fellow; now a free-lance defense writer for the UK national press
Nancy Webb | Needed: An independent news media leader DISCUSSIONS| May 26, 2006 1984 Nieman fellow, now a writer and free-lance journalist
Henry Raymont | 'Too adversarial? That's a joke, yes?' DISCUSSIONS| May 26, 2006 1952 Nieman fellow; syndicated columnist, roving reporter based in Washington, D.C.
Peter A. Jay | Accuracy, honesty of reporting are now suspect DISCUSSIONS| May 25, 2006 1973 Nieman fellow; former Washington Post reporter, Baltimore Sun columnist and small-town newspaper publisher; now a farmer in Maryland
Jonathan Z. Larsen | 'There's no serious effort to clarify issues' DISCUSSIONS| May 25, 2006 1980 Nieman fellow; free-lance writer, editorial board chairman of OnEarth Magazine
Bob Lancaster | 'The press is as dead as a hammer' DISCUSSIONS| May 25, 2006 1972 Nieman fellow; columnist, Arkansas Times, Little Rock
Bill German | 'Don’t worry about seeming too adversarial' DISCUSSIONS| May 22, 2006 1950 Nieman fellow; Editor Emeritus, San Francisco Chronicle.
A series of reports | TRAC offers helpful data on immigration SHOWCASE Syracuse University research center is a powerful resource for journalists to define and deal with complicated issues.
Questioning the editors | Murtha and the Washington Post DISCUSSIONS| January 19, 2006 A reader wonders whether a mere allegation is newsworthy.
Oversight | Cobell v. Norton, ‘A window on the balance of power in Washington’ ASK THIS D.C. attorney Lee Helfrich writes: “Cobell …has included several instances of overt deception, intentional and negligent destruction of records, and efforts to mute truthful testimony. Any District of Columbia litigator would know better than to try this stuff with Lamberth on the bench.”
Much harshness revealed | Two Web sites help reporters overcome the language barrier SHOWCASE MEMRI translates Arabic, Farsi and Turkish media to English and other languages; 'Watching America' focuses on what the world thinks about the U.S.
Evaluating alarmism | Why not cool down the terrorism rhetoric a little? ASK THIS Excluding the year 2001, fewer people have died in America from terrorism than have drowned in bathtubs. John Mueller argues that risk and comparative probability should be guidelines in coverage of terrorism.
'Identifying up' | Yes, there are lots of blue-collar Republicans. But why? ASK THIS Before moving on to the 2006 and 2008 elections, let's understand 2004 a little better. Sociologist Arlie Hochschild has some questions that need to be addressed.
Sources worth protecting? | Let's get on with the Novak/Plame case ASK THIS The secrets in the Valerie Plame outing case may finally be coming to light. As they do, here are some questions that need answering.
‘News is what people want to keep hidden’ | Moyers on the squelching, punishing of journalists COMMENTARY Radical right-wingers ‘have been after me for years now and I suspect they will be stomping on my grave to make sure I don’t come back from the dead,’ says the veteran TV figure.
Face to face is best | It’s hard to bump into stories if you don’t leave the office SHOWCASE 'Greed, downsizing and computerization eventually may create an investigative void,' writes Michael Bugeja, director of the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication at Iowa State University.
Book reviews | 'The Vanishing Newspaper' and other takes on news and the news business SHOWCASE The current issue of Nieman Reports (Spring 2005) includes in-depth reviews of recent books by Phil Meyer, Bonnie M. Anderson, Robert McChesney and John Nichols, Dan Gillmor, Seymour Hersh, Geoffrey R. Stone, Seth Mnookin, Mark Bowden, and Sebastiao Salgado.
Color coding seen as a cliché | Blue states vs. red states? COMMENTARY Sociologist Leo Bogart says that labeling states as 'red' or 'blue' disguises the complexity of people's thinking about politics. There's a good bit of blue in the red states, and vice versa.
The media game | What do leading Republicans have to say about the executive branch's fake news videos? ASK THIS If Bush's allies are critical, then the propaganda charge can't be written off as mere partisan bickering.
Lowering their guard? | A look at the Times's reporting of the secret George W. Bush tapes COMMENTARY Writer Russ Baker has problems with a The New York Times story, citing a lack of transparency and a need for a high ‘vigilance level.’
'Welcome to Doomsday' | Understanding religious fervor is a key to reporting politics ASK THIS Bill Moyers writes in a New York Review essay on political religion: 'The delusional…has come in from the fringe to influence the seats of power.'
Legacy of Watergate | Would you use the adjective 'heroic' to describe the American news media? COMMENTARY Anthony Lewis on broadcasters who sound like a cheering section, a government that would charge $372,799 for an FOIA request, and a press that, overall, isn’t exactly heroic.
Bush’s National Guard service | The Boccardi-Thornburgh report leaves some questions unanswered COMMENTARY Phil Meyer writes that the CBS investigative panel focuses more on procedures and less on the story itself, and that it offers at least one promising lead for reporters to pick up on.
Meanwhile, in Mosul... | A breathless recounting of the invasion of Fallujah COMMENTARY Greg Mitchell, writing in Editor and Publisher, sees many newspapers once again failing to do hard, skeptical reporting in Iraq. "One step forward, two steps back," is how he describes it.
A failed system | Some good reporting now could bring integrity to voting and help make it more tamper-proof ASK THIS Follow the lead of Keith Olbermann and The New York Times editorial page. Go over this year's vote count, and consider making election systems a beat to help bring about reform for next time.
Understanding America | Fundamentalists 51, enlightenment 48 ASK THIS Maybe the election wasn't about terrorism, Iraq or the economy at all…at least not for many of those on the winning side.
One a month, maybe? | More presidential press conferences, please ASK THIS The White House correspondents missed their first chance to ask Bush to hold more sessions with them.
Why is this a non-story? | If the FBI works to shut down independent journalism Web sites that are critical of U.S. policy, isn't that news? COMMENTARY| October 14, 2004 Journalists' organizations outside the U.S. are up in arms, but there's been hardly a peep here.
Bad examples | Making a mess, as seen by Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. COMMENTARY The liberal historian lays into the news media, calling them 'supine'. Does anybody think he's wrong?
Abdication to cable | Rosenstiel laments the decline of broadcast TV COMMENTARY Media analyst Tom Rosenstiel says network TV is tossing away its prestige and influence, and that its owners act as though they don't even care.
On the Web | Liberal think tank prepares tough questions for journalists to use SHOWCASE| August 26, 2004 The Center for American Progress has more questions than it knows what to do with.
My Lai, Tiger Force, etc. | If we have to cover the Swift-boat controversy, let's at least get it right ASK THIS You say there are other, more important campaign issues? Oh.
For the record | Homeland security questions for state and local candidates ASK THIS Americans are concerned about terrorism but many are skeptical about homeland security warnings. How do local office-seekers weigh in? Whom do they believe and what are they themselves doing? (Fourth in a series)
Election 2004 | A matter of stenography at The New York Times COMMENTARY After the election will The Times have to apologize for some of the reporting it's doing now?
Bandwagon | Ronald Reagan died June 5th. Anybody think the early coverage was a little distorted? A little overdone? COMMENTARY| June 11, 2004 First-day stories reflected more myth than reality, leaving out or burying anything unpleasant. It's not as though editors didn't have time to prepare.
Less secrecy, please | Reporters should be asking to see Reagan's presidential papers ASK THIS| June 09, 2004 Susan Tifft, on the validity of Bush's executive order blocking the release of presidential and vice presidential documents...
Lecture | Reporting From the War Zone: At What Cost? SHOWCASE| May 01, 2004 Washington Post reporter Anthony Shadid won a Pulitzer in 2004 for his stunning coverage of life in Iraq in 2003...
Readers ask | What geniuses decided that celebrity bunk is news? DISCUSSIONS| May 01, 2004 Some people want more than a distraction from their news media...
Multimedia | Now on video: Editorial board interviews SHOWCASE| April 11, 2004 Some newspapers have been posting editorial board interviews with political candidates on their Web sites – an excellent multimedia enhancement for people who'd like to follow politics closely.
Anthony Lewis | Anthony Lewis on the Framers, the 1st Amendment and watchdog reporting COMMENTARY| April 08, 2004 James Madison, a big defender of watchdog reporting
Calling all readers | Wanted: Tough questions for the presidential debates ASK THIS The Internet can make the presidential debates better. NiemanWatchdog.org will make it happen – with your help.
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