Nieman Foundation | Programs & Publications

I hope that the Nieman program can go on contributing … by giving talented journalists an opportunity to pause for moment in their lives and to read and reflect and absorb whatever knowledge we can provide here. — Harvard President Derek Bok, 1979

Narrative Journalism

In keeping with our mission of elevating the standards of journalism and offering enrichment for mid-career journalists, the Nieman Foundation has developed an extensive program in narrative journalism, the genre that takes the techniques of fiction and applies them to nonfiction.

The narrative form requires deep and sophisticated reporting, an appreciation for storytelling, a departure from the structural conventions of daily news, an imaginative use of language, and a strong presence of the writer through voice and point of view. Our program strives to help journalists understand narrative and then to deploy it to present the news with power, depth, and nuance.

Our program offers several different elements: a seminar in narrative journalism for fellows; an online digest of current narrative writing, as well as resources for educators and students of the form; and publications, including an anthology of essays about narrative journalism called Telling True Stories.

If you have questions about the Nieman Program on Narrative Journalism, please send an e-mail to nieman-narrative@harvard.edu