Niemans in the News

CBS News Adds Holly Williams To Correspondent Ranks - October 9

CBS News has brought on Holly Williams as a correspondent. Williams, who had been based in China and now lives in Turkey, is a veteran foreign correspondent, most recently for SKY News. She is a 2008 Nieman Fellow. Read more »
South Africans mourn loss of Zwelakhe Sisulu - October 4

Zwelakhe Sisulu, NF ’85, a South African opposition newspaper editor and anti-apartheid activist who was jailed several times in the 1970s and ’80s for speaking out against black oppression, died Oct. 4 at the age of 61. Expressing his condolences to Sisulu's family, South African President Jacob Zuma said, “He leaves a legacy of selfless service, humility, patriotism and dedication to this country and its people.”

Sisulu was selected by Nieman Fellows for the 1987 Louis M. Lyons Award for Conscience and Integrity in Journalism for giving black South Africans a voice during apartheid. He also received the International Human Rights Law Group Award, the Union of Swedish Journalists’ Award and the Rothko Chapel Award for Human Rights. Read more »
NABJ honors Nieman Journalists - October 1

Three Nieman Fellows have been named to the National Association of Black Journalists’ Hall of Fame for their outstanding contributions to the industry. The new inductees are Betty Winston Bayé, NF ’91, longtime columnist for The (Louisville) Courier-Journal; Simeon Booker, NF ’51, the first black reporter at The Washington Post and Washington bureau chief for Jet Magazine; and Cynthia Tucker, NF ’89, Pulitzer-winning columnist for The Atlanta Journal Constitution. The induction ceremony will be held at The Newseum in January. Learn more »
Robert Manning, an influential editor of The Atlantic Monthly, dies at 92 - October 1

Robert Manning, an influential editor of The Atlantic Monthly and a 1946 Nieman Fellow, died of lymphoma at a hospital in Boston on Sept. 28, 2012. He was 92.

Manning was editor in chief of the magazine, now called The Atlantic, from 1966 to 1980, a period during which its circulation grew from 200,000 to 335,000. He also hired or helped further the careers of several major writers, including James Fallows, Elizabeth Drew, Ward Just, James Alan McPherson, L.E. Sissman, Ross Terrill, Tracy Kidder, and Dan Wakefield. Read more »
Journalism’s new funding channel - September 10

How do you pay for important journalism in an era of diminishing funding and shrinking budgets? Ask 2013 Nieman-Berkman Fellow Laura Amico and her husband Chris, the founders of Homicide Watch D.C. who have successfully turned to Kickstarter to back their work. The couple have developed a new business model for their site and are just two of the many independent journalists now turning to new funding options to stay afloat. On Sept. 9, with pledges from more than 1,000 people, Homicide Watch reached its $40,000 goal to pay for a reporting lab of interns who will keep the site running for the next year.

Read David Carr’s New York Times article on the Amicos’ work and fundraising efforts »
Former Globe and Mail literary editor William French dies at 86 - September 7

Although his byline disappeared with his retirement more than 20 years ago, former Globe and Mail literary editor William French is still remembered by former colleagues and literary admirers as a giant of his day - Canada's dominant literary critic during a formative period of the national literature. French, a 1955 Nieman Fellow, died July 24 in Toronto at the age of 86. Read more »
Two Niemans recieve Dart fellowships - September 7

Kevin Sites, NF '10, and Dianne Solis, NF '90 have been chosen as members of the 2012 class of Ochberg Fellows at the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. The Ochberg Fellowships were established in 1999 by the Dart Center for journalists seeking to deepen their coverage of violence, conflict and tragedy, ranging from street crime and family violence to natural disasters, war and genocide. Read more »
AP names Margie Mason as Indonesia bureau chief - August 20

Margie Mason, an award-winning correspondent for The Associated Press in Southeast Asia, has been promoted to chief of bureau for Indonesia. She will be based in Jakarta, where she will oversee AP’s coverage of the world’s fourth most populous country. Mason is a 2009 Nieman Fellow. Read more »
Bob Giles wins Yankee Quill Award - August 14

Former Nieman curator Bob Giles, NF ’66, will receive a Yankee Quill Award this fall from the Academy of New England Journalists. The annual award recognizes recipients’ contributions to journalistic excellence and broad influence on New England journalism over time. The selection committee was impressed with Giles’ 11 years as director of the Nieman Foundation, including his oversight of programs such as the Nieman Journalism Lab and Nieman Watchdog and his support of narrative journalism. Learn more »
A new form of global storytelling - August 8

Maria Balinska, NF’10, is working to transform the way international news is presented to the American audience. As founder and editor of the new start-up Latitude News, she has developed a new way to connect Americans with the world through crowdsourcing, social media and podcasts. Formerly a BBC producer, Balinska is now overseeing monthly podcasts that explore the ways people and communities in the United States are linked with the rest of the world. Learn more »