Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard

France's independent press is growing fast.

Alternative media startups see themselves as a bulwark against billionaires and the far right. Can they survive? 

🔗: https://niemanreports.org/french-media-blast-mediapart-lagrasse-independent-france/

Bringing your values to your reporting and writing - Nieman Storyboard Irin Carmon annotates her book on the lives of five pregnant women post-Dobbs. Plus: More awards and fellowship deadlines

My Friday newsletter for @niemanstoryboard.org: @irincarmon.bsky.social annotates a chapter from her book "Unbearable," plus @shorensteinctr.bsky.social @stephenrodrick.bsky.social and a new film about the Renaud brothers.

niemanstoryboard.org/2026/03/06/b...

If you've tried logging into a news site recently, there's a good chance you were asked to check your email for a passcode or "magic link" instead of entering a password.

🔗: https://www.niemanlab.org/2026/02/why-magic-links-and-passcodes-are-taking-over-news-logins/

Annotation: How Brendan O’Meara Reconstructs Steve Prefontaine's Legendary Races in ‘The Front Runner’ - Nieman Storyboard The journalist, podcaster, and biographer shares tips on writing scenes you can’t witness firsthand, and getting in the head of characters no longer around to interview

Annotation: The journalist, podcaster, and biographer shares tips on writing scenes you can’t witness firsthand, and getting in the head of characters no longer around to interview

Journalist killings reached a record high in 2025 — the deadliest year since CPJ began collecting data more than three decades ago. Israel was responsible for two in three of these killings, driving the total number to 129 killed last year.

Read CPJ’s #2025KilledReport: cpj.org?p=553549

Free Speech in Deep Freeze - Nieman Reports On the ground in Minnesota, where journalists are working to tell the truth about government-sanctioned violence and spin

Opinion: On the ground in Minnesota, where journalists are working to tell the truth about government-sanctioned violence and spin

France’s Independent Press Fights Back - Nieman Reports Alternative media startups in France see themselves as a bulwark against billionaires and the far right. Can they survive? 

Alternative media startups see themselves as a bulwark against billionaires and the far right. Can they survive?

Journalist Tricia Romano on the pros and cons of writing an oral history - Nieman Storyboard The author of ‘The Freaks Came Out to Write,’ knew that her book about The Village Voice needed to be an oral history. She soon learned the storytelling challenges that came with it

🎧 @niemanstoryboard.org podcast: The author of ‘The Freaks Came Out to Write’ knew that her book about The Village Voice needed to be an oral history. She soon learned the storytelling challenges that came with it

Dangerously Underreported - Nieman Reports Sudan’s journalists risk their lives to tell the story of their homeland as the world turns away, writes Isma'il Kushkush.

Sudan’s journalists risk their lives to tell the story of their homeland as the world turns away

🏆 Columbia Journalism School and the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard (@niemanfoundation.bsky.social) have announced the 2026 shortlists for the J. Anthony Lukas Prize Project, honoring outstanding works of American nonfiction in progress and in print.

The 2026 Nieman Fellows honor Gaza-based Palestinian journalists Shrouq Aila and Anas Baba with the Louis M. Lyons Award for Conscience and Integrity in Journalism - Nieman Foundation The Nieman Fellows in the Class of 2026 have awarded the Louis M. Lyons Award for Conscience and Integrity in Journalism to two Palestinian journalists in Gaza: Anas Baba, a reporter for National Publ...

The 2026 Nieman Fellows have chosen Gaza-based Palestinian journalists Shrouq Aila and @npr.org’s Anas Baba with the Louis M. Lyons Award for Conscience and Integrity in Journalism for reporting that documents the human consequences of war with accuracy and care. nieman.harvard.edu/the-2026-nie...

As artificial intelligence moves into newsrooms, four Nieman Fellows weigh in on the technology’s promise, limits, and risks.

🔗: https://niemanreports.org/ai-research-risks-journalism-artificial-intelligence-nieman-foundation-fellows/

Jimmy Lai sentenced to 20 years in prison in Hong Kong’s biggest media trial - Committee to Protect Journalists New York, February 9, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists on Monday condemned the 20-year prison sentence handed down to publisher Jimmy Lai, the founder of now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper…

CPJ condemned the 20-year prison sentence handed down to publisher Jimmy Lai, the founder of now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily.

“The rule of law has been completely shattered in Hong Kong,” said CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg.

Read more:

A new book by journalist Danny Funt, Everybody Loses: The Tumultuous Rise of American Sports Gambling, tracks the legalization of sports betting. 

🔗: https://www.niemanlab.org/2026/02/sports-betting-reshaped-newsrooms-and-its-a-little-gross-now-here-come-the-prediction-markets/

Free Speech in Deep Freeze - Nieman Reports On the ground in Minnesota, where journalists are working to tell the truth about government-sanctioned violence and spin

My friends at Niemanreports.org asked me to write about the experience of being a journalist on the ground in Minneapolis right now. I knew I wanted to tell reporters elsewhere how even this most hopeless of times has been clarifying and, in some ways, energizing. (1) share.google/ms1wKDQZmgep...

As artificial intelligence moves into newsrooms, four Nieman Fellows weigh in on the technology’s promise, limits, and risks.

🔗: https://niemanreports.org/ai-research-risks-journalism-artificial-intelligence-nieman-foundation-fellows/

Outlets like The Guardian and The New York Times are scrutinizing digital archives as potential backdoors for AI crawlers.

🔗: https://www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/news-publishers-limit-internet-archive-access-due-to-ai-scraping-concerns/

Journalism coops seem utopian. What’s it like working in one? "If I was less self-directed, I'd probably be freaking out."

To some of those tired, overworked journalists, coops may look almost utopian. But how does the promise play out in practice?

For his latest book, “The Front Runner: The Life of Steve Prefontaine”, journalist Brendan O’Meara wrote his first biography, the story of one of the most charismatic competitive runners.

🔗: https://niemanstoryboard.org/2026/01/29/brendan-omeara-reconstructs-steve-prefontaines-races-front-runner/

What a safety expert thinks journalists should know about “less than lethal” rounds and chemical irritants used by ICE "The consideration that we make with all of our recommendations is, 'What is the safest thing you can use while still getting your assignment done?’"

"The consideration that we make with all of our recommendations is 'What is the safest thing you can use while still getting your assignment done?'"

Journalism at an AI Inflection Point - Nieman Reports As artificial intelligence moves into newsrooms, four Nieman Fellows weigh in on the technology’s promise, limits, and risks.

The folks at @niemanreports.org wrote up a panel I was fortunate to moderate on AI and journalism with @niemanfoundation.bsky.social alums @jaemark.co, Uli Köppen and Ron Stodghill. niemanreports.org/ai-research-...

Bali’s main landfill is close to the island’s popular beaches. Tourism drives roughly 70% of Bali’s economy, and waste from hotels, restaurants, and homes funnels here daily, revealing the environmental cost of its global appeal.

🔗: https://niemanreports.org/plastics-crisis-intrudes-on-paradise/

On the latest episode of the @niemanstoryboard.org podcast, journalists Leah Sottile and Ryan Haas join Editor @markarms.bsky.social to discuss the final season of their serialized podcast “Hush."

🎧: https://niemanstoryboard.org/2026/01/22/leah-sottile-ryan-haas-true-crime-podcasting-journalism/

In Minneapolis and other U.S. cities, Bellingcat supplements local news by “zooming in with a forensic lens” Partnerships with local news outlets help "bring our stories to the audiences who need to see them most."

In Minneapolis and other U.S. cities, Bellingcat supplements local news by “zooming in with a forensic lens”

What a safety expert thinks journalists should know about “less than lethal” rounds and chemical irritants used by ICE "The consideration that we make with all of our recommendations is, 'What is the safest thing you can use while still getting your assignment done?’"

“The consideration that we make with all of our recommendations is ‘What is the safest thing you can use while still getting your assignment done?’”

Wikipedia is 25 this month.

And while it's not a news site, its most-edited articles each week read like front-page headlines. Newsrooms could learn from what Wikipedia has built.

🔗: https://www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/after-25-years-wikipedia-has-proved-that-news-doesnt-need-to-look-like-news/

Leah Sottile and Ryan Haas on deconstructing ‘true crime’ in podcasting and journalism - Nieman Storyboard The team behind ‘Hush’ discuss the ethics of narrative journalism and creating a serialized podcast that's sensitive to victims and families

Loved sitting down with @leahsottile.bsky.social and @ryanjhaas.bsky.social for the @niemanstoryboard.org podcast to talk about the second season of their series "Hush" — and I'm so excited they're launching their own independent publication.

niemanstoryboard.org/2026/01/22/l...

#longreads

'How can we have the best of machines and the best of humans?'  - Nieman Reports Gina Chua discusses how AI is reshaping the news industry. She is executive director of the Tow-Knight Center and editor-at-large at Semafor.

"Machines are good at some things, humans are good at some things. Let’s put those two together, and maybe we will actually move forward as a species."

@ginaskchua.bsky.social on AI and industry disruption for @niemanfoundation.bsky.social and @niemanreports.org

niemanreports.org/gina-chua-ai...

pic of snowy front yard and brick walkway from inside a window

view from Lippmann House @niemanfoundation.bsky.social

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Journalists — a friendly reminder: Applications for the $20,000 Worth Bingham Prize for Investigative Journalism and the $10,000 Taylor Family Award for Fairness in Journalism, are due by Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. We’re eager to read your best work. nieman.harvard.edu/awards/