Niemans in the News

Waiting for a US-Iran Handshake - March 7

With Iranian influence growing throughout its region, and America faltering after so many foreign-policy debacles, Iran is hungrily eyeing the prize of regional dominance. Iason Athanasiadis, Class of 2008, talks with one of Iran's diplomatic elite, who could well be one of the officials who end up negotiating the future of the region with Washington.
Joseph R. 'Joe' Zelnik dies at 75 - March 3

Joseph R. “Joe” Zelnik, Class of 1970, died March 3, 2008. The Cape May County Herald editor for 25 years, he was responsible for guiding the newspaper from a 20-page print edition in December 1982 into the 60-plus page weekly with Internet presence that it grew to be by the time of his retirement, when he assumed the title "Editor Emeritus."
Tim Golden a Part of Oscar-Winning Documentary, “A Taxi From the Dark Side” - February 28

The award for Best Documentary Feature was given to “Taxi To The Dark Side” at the 80th Academy Awards on Sunday, February 24. Director Alex Gibney used the story of an Afghan taxi driver beaten to death while in U.S. military custody to examine the torture practices of U.S. forces and the U.S. Government in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay.

Interviews with New York Times reporters Tim Golden, Class of 1996, and Carlotta Gall — who were first the first to investigate the death — are featured in the film.
First Two Women Fellows Die Two Days Apart - February 27

The first two women awarded Nieman Fellowships died recently within just two days of each other. Charlotte FitzHenry Robling and Mary Leary Sherry and 12 other print reporters were members of the Class of 1946, under Curator Louis Lyons.
Baskin Receives Award from Scripps Howard Foundation - February 27

Roberta Baskin, Class of 2002, received the Excellence in Electronic Media/TV-Cable award from the Scripps Howard Foundation for “Drilling for Dollars,” an investigation of abuse by the leading chain of Medicaid-funded dental clinics for children. The annual National Journalism Awards honor the best in print, Web and electronic journalism and journalism education.
At Work with Malawi's Nurses - February 24

Christine Gorman, one of the 2008 recipients of the Nieman Fellowship for Global Health Reporting, outlines her four-month field research project. Her principal goals are to tell the story of what Malawi, a small, land-locked country in southeastern Africa, is doing to hold on to its nurses.
William Worthy Receives Lyons Award - February 22

The Nieman Foundation presented the 2008 Lyons Award for Conscience and Integrity in Journalism to William Worthy, Class of 1957.
Tim Golden of New York Times Delivers Morris Lecture at Nieman Foundation - February 21

Tim Golden, senior writer for The New York Times and member of the Class of 1996, presented the 2008 Joe Alex Morris Jr. Memorial Lecture at the Nieman Foundation on February 21, 2008.

The Morris Lecture honors the foreign correspondent of the Los Angeles Times who was killed in February 1979 while covering the Iranian Revolution in Tehran. The lectureship was created in 1981 by family members, Harvard classmates and friends.
Two Nieman Fellows Receive ASNE Awards - February 19

The American Society of Newspaper Editors recently selected the winners of its annual awards for distinguished writing and photography, and two Nieman Fellows were among those selected.
Iran's Winds of Change - February 14

Iason Athanasiadis, Class of 2008, comments on the new generation of Iranians: the children of the Revolution. "The domestic social situation is more dire than at almost any other time since the Revolution," he writes. "But many Iranians have moved on from the submissive first days of the Islamic Republic ... The new generation mounts actions of social insubordination that their parents only dreamed of."