Words & Reflections

Nicola Bruno’s provocative piece about machines replacing journalists is among the essays featured in this section of Nieman Reports. Other writers take us inside Tehran’s Evin prison, where Iran held Newsweek reporter Maziar Bahari for nearly four months after he covered the 2009 election protests, and to Afghanistan, where women reporters write about frontline experiences. In Indonesia, the topic shifts to media coverage of sectarian violence, while a professor in the U.S. ponders the possibility of consensus-building journalism. Reporting on the financial crisis raises for one journalist the question of whether it should be covered as a crime story.

Words & Reflections
Evin Prison: A Destination for ‘Troublesome’ Journalists In Iran
‘ “I hit my head hard against the faux marble wall again and again, ignoring the pain that crept up my neck. I deserved the pain. I had betrayed my family, my colleagues, myself.” ’
By Nazila Fathi
War, Satire and the Way It Is—For Women Reporters
‘… being female can be an advantage in Afghanistan, in part because Western women are still curiosities there, especially outside Kabul.’
By Monica Campbell
Indonesia’s Religious Violence: The Reluctance of Reporters to Tell the Story
‘In an average Indonesian newsroom, most media workers identify closely with an Islamic and nationalist identity.’
By Andreas Harsono
Will Machines Replace Journalists?
After looking at start-ups for their book, “The Monkey That Won a Pulitzer,” two Italian journalists launched a project that uses motion graphics to tell news stories with context.
By Nicola Bruno
Consensus-Building Journalism: An Immodest Proposal (1 comment)
‘What this country could use is an enormous mediation session, and in the unique role they hold, journalists are logical people to lead it.’
By Gilda C. Parrella
What Mediation Looks Like for Journalists
By Gilda C. Parrella
Is the Financial Crisis Also a Crime Story? (1 comment)
What happens when reporters pursue the wrong narrative in covering financial news? It is a personal story with deeper implications.
By Danny Schechter