The Press in Russia

Powerful owners, government officials and politicians work hard to control what journalists write and say. With elections ahead, the press faces critical tests of its independence.

How Journalists Use Sources
A report from the Second Watchdog Journalism Project Conference
Journalists meet to talk about the relationships that reporters have with their sources and to examine the potential consequences posed by changes in how sources are treated by reporters and how sources treat reporters.

Watchdog Conference: Reporters Wrestle With How to Use Sources: Reporters Wrestle With How to Use Sources
Name them? Socialize with them? Trust them?
By Melissa Ludtke, Editor; Introduction: Reporting on Government, National Security, Nonprofits and Business
By Bill Kovach and Others; Panel Members; Naming Sources; False Sources and Misleading Information; In Reporting on Whitewater, an Anonymous Source Misinformed the Press
By Gilbert Cranberg; Reporters’ Relationships With Sources; How the Real Story Gets Told in Pictures; The Role of Reporters’ Judgment; When Reporters are Shut Out By Sources; Stages of Reporting: Finding and Using Sources; Verifying What Sources Say; Working With Key Sources; The Roles Editors Play; Impact of Investigative Stories
Words & Reflections: Introduction
By Melissa Ludtke, Editor; The Inestimable Value of Family Ownership
As corporate newspaper ownership increases, independent decision-making is lost.
By Alex S. Jones; Punch Sulzberger’s Pentagon Papers Decision
Excerpt from “The Trust: The Private and Powerful Family Behind The New York Times,” by Susan E. Tifft and Alex S. Jones, published by Little, Brown and Company, 1999; A Woman at Odds With Her Times
Charlotte Curtis is portrayed as a controversial pioneer in journalism.
By Maria Henson; Media’s Role in Changing the Face of Poverty
A Scholar Examines the Convergence of Race and Welfare in the Media.
By Sharon Green; The Cold War Generation of Patriotic Journalists
What happens when journalism becomes government propaganda?
By Michael J. Kirkhorn; A Journalist Reveals Himself in Letters
Irreverent, churlish, boastful and, sometimes, larger than life.
By Elizabeth Leland; Reporting on Child Welfare and Adoption Policies
An author and advocate contends that journalists are missing the story.
By Elizabeth Bartholet; Reporting on Reproductive and Genetic Technologies
An author describes her experiences—good and bad—with the media.
By Lori B. Andrews
Nieman Notes: At Unity ’99 the Topic Was Journalism
The conference offered a glimpse of what newsrooms could be.
By Sam Fulwood III; An Urban Eye Looks at Rural Life
Photographs that ‘beguile without fantasizing.’
By Frank Van Riper

International Journalism: Introduction
By Melissa Ludtke, Editor; Reporting Stories in Russia That No One Will Publish
Those who own and control the media want to secure political influence, not to uncover political corruption.
By Yevgenia Albats; Russian Television News: Owners and the Public
Owners jockey for political advantage. The public spots bias.
By Ellen Mickiewicz; Russian Regional Media
The nation’s financial crisis threatens journalists’ independence.
By Virginie Coulloudon; In China, a New and Profitable Journalism Emerges
With profit comes change and questions about future direction.
By Webster K. Nolan; Spanish Journalists Adore the Euro
Wonder why? The roots of this love affair go back a century.
By Dale Fuchs
Journalist’s Trade: Introduction
By Melissa Ludtke, Editor; In Sports Reporting, When Does the Personal Become News?
Boundaries seem much harder to find and a lot easier to cross.
By Tom Witosky; Muhammad Ali Was a Rebel. Michael Jordan Is a Brand Name.
In celebrating Jordan as a hero, are we merely worshipping capitalism?
By Michael Crowley; Who Were You, Joe DiMaggio?
He was an ‘icon of icons’ about whom little was known.
By David Halberstam; Restricting a Photojournalist’s Access
The Red Sox tried to stop pictures of Fenway Park from being published.
By Stan Grossfeld; Women Sportswriters Confront New Issues
No longer focused on locker room access, work and family challenges prevail.
By Claire Smith; Can Anybody Find News Here?
In Hyannis Port, nobody could. But ‘news’ was delivered, anyway.
By Melissa Ludtke; The Missing Voices in Coverage of Health
Nurses’ experience and research is vital to, but absent from, these stories.
By Bernice Buresh; Nursing Stories Journalists Fail to Cover
A nurse raises vital questions that reporters should be asking.
By Jean Chaisson; What Happens When Journalists Envision a Web Site and Techies Try to Build It?
Generations clash. Cultures collide. And promises cannot be kept.
By Edward M. Fouhy; Is ‘New Media’ Really New?
For news agency reporters, technology changes but not how the job is done.
By Kevin Noblet

News: Visual Appeal
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