Nieman Reports

The Security Playbook Every Journalist Should Know - Nieman Reports Safety experts outline practical steps for protecting devices, data, and sources to safeguard against hacks, leaks, raids, and legal threats.

The Security Playbook Every Journalist Should Know

Experts outline practical steps for protecting devices, data, and sources — both online and off — to safeguard against hacks, leaks, surveillance, raids, and legal threats.

niemanreports.org/digital-secu...

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...

X will demonetize users who post AI-generated videos of war (but not other kinds of disinformation) On Tuesday Nikita Bier, head of product at X, announced that users who post AI-generated videos of an armed conflict without disclosing they were AI-generated will suspended from the site's…

X will demonetize users who post AI-generated videos of war (but not other kinds of disinformation) www.niemanlab.org/2026/03/x-wi...

AI-powered search is fueling a wave of Epstein Files transparency projects Newsrooms have long used AI to sift through document dumps. Now that same tech is being used to build search tools for readers.

In the vacuum left by the DOJ's faulty Epstein Files search, journalists and engineers have stepped in to create alternative AI databases. www.niemanlab.org/2026/03/ai-p...

Traffic to top tech publications has plummeted since 2024, new analysis shows Organic search traffic to some of the internet’s most-read tech publications has dropped by 58% since 2024, according to a new analysis from the SEO and GEO marketing firm Growtika. The report pulled…

Organic search traffic to ten of the internet’s most-read tech publications has dropped 58% since 2024, according to a new report. www.niemanlab.org/2026/03/traf...

AI-powered search is fueling a wave of Epstein Files transparency projects Newsrooms have long used AI to sift through document dumps. Now that same tech is being used to build search tools for readers.

In the vacuum left by the DOJ's faulty Epstein Files search, journalists and engineers have stepped in to build alternatives for readers.

"[When] people feel the government’s not being transparent, it’s even more important for media outlets to provide that service" www.niemanlab.org/2026/03/ai-p...

It’s time for local news funders to pick winners, scale up, and force mergers, a new report argues "I don’t think we’re in a stage, any longer, of innovation. It really is a challenge of what are the scaling solutions."

"I think the challenges now are so systemic that the only way to do responsible, impactful funding going forward is to look at system solutions rather than newsroom-based ones." www.niemanlab.org/2026/03/its-...

With Washington Post Local diminished, other news sites step up their D.C. coverage The 51st, City Cast, and The Baltimore Banner are among the outlets to announce expansions of Washington, D.C. metro area coverage since the Post layoffs.

These models — a worker-owned coop, a for-profit outlet that’s part of a national network, and a powerhouse nonprofit — reflect the patchwork range of news orgs attempting to take up the mantle of local coverage when metro dailies buckle. www.niemanlab.org/2026/03/with...

The Security Playbook Every Journalist Should Know - Nieman Reports Safety experts outline practical steps for protecting devices, data, and sources to safeguard against hacks, leaks, raids, and legal threats.

The Security Playbook Every Journalist Should Know

Experts outline practical steps for protecting devices, data, and sources — both online and off — to safeguard against hacks, leaks, surveillance, raids, and legal threats.

niemanreports.org/digital-secu...

Generation Discord: Lessons from Nepal’s Revolution - Nieman Reports Uprisings fomented on social media, like the one that recently swept Nepal, catch legacy journalism by surprise

Read the full story in @niemanreports.org ⬇️

niemanreports.org/nepal-gen-z-...

Generation Discord: Lessons from Nepal’s Revolution - Nieman Reports Uprisings fomented on social media, like the one that recently swept Nepal, catch legacy journalism by surprise

"Since the Nepal uprising there have been similar protests in Madagascar, Morocco, Peru, Bulgaria, and beyond, where governments have been swiftly overthrown or leaders have been put on notice by a groundswell that starts on social media."

niemanreports.org/nepal-gen-z-...

Generation Discord: Lessons from Nepal’s Revolution - Nieman Reports Uprisings fomented on social media, like the one that recently swept Nepal, catch legacy journalism by surprise

"As a journalist who has covered Nepal and the region for over two decades, I’m still processing those historic few days. What I find most unsettling is the fact that my teenage children ... saw it coming long before I did," writes @subinashrestha.bsky.social.

niemanreports.org/nepal-gen-z-...

Generation Discord: Lessons from Nepal’s Revolution - Nieman Reports Uprisings fomented on social media, like the one that recently swept Nepal, catch legacy journalism by surprise

Nepalis are voting in a national election today — the first since last year’s youth-led uprising toppled the government. @subinashrestha.bsky.social reports on the protests, how they were organized online, and what they could mean for Nepal’s political future.

niemanreports.org/nepal-gen-z-...

Compass Vermont Raises Questions About AI and the News Evidence shows that the online news outlet’s stories are produced, at least in part, with undisclosed artificial intelligence.

“At the risk of sounding lofty, asking us the specifics of how we do it is like asking Coke for their cola recipe.”

www.sevendaysvt.com/news/media-n...

The Baltimore Beat experiments with pay-what-you-can ads The newspaper and nonprofit news site Baltimore Beat is rolling out pay-what-you-can ads. "We hope this is a way that small businesses can feature themselves in the paper, keeping their services at…

The Baltimore Beat experiments with pay-what-you-can ads www.niemanlab.org/2026/02/the-...

The Tampa Bay Times starts a monthly “book club” for news stories The idea is not just to discuss a story's substance, but to give readers a behind-the-scenes look at the reporting process and decision-making that shape the published article.

The Tampa Bay Times starts a monthly “book club” for news stories www.niemanlab.org/2026/02/the-...

Is The New York Times a games company? A familiar debate continues “The New York Times is no longer a news company,” proclaims the caption of a chart posted on X Saturday summarizing how Times bundle subscribers have eclipsed news-only subscribers. The New York…

Is The New York Times a games company? A familiar debate continues www.niemanlab.org/2026/02/is-t...

Bostopia’s Evan George serves Boston daily news from a lefty perspective "You don't need to pretend to [to be neutral] or be worried about [what people think]. Because now it just sounds like you're hiding things and nobody trusts or believes that anymore."

"I am almost exclusively reliant on the work of journalists from The Boston Globe, from the Boston Herald, from a number of other great outlets ..." www.niemanlab.org/2026/02/bost...

“Podcast” meant nothing and everything at On Air Fest "Social media is turning into TV, but TV is turning into radio."

At this year's On Air Fest, most of the programming consisted of live episode tapings rather than discussions of craft, @neeldhanesha.com found, and he heard the term “creator” just as often as “journalist."

www.niemanlab.org/2026/03/podc...

After Mexico’s most-wanted cartel leader was killed, OSINT helped fuel both clarity and confusion online Many OSINT analysts are experts in their fields and take care to verify information before publishing, but even well-intentioned accounts may inject more noise than clarity into an already tense…

The death of cartel leader "El Mencho" underscored that “OSINT-looking” content can also contribute to online misinformation when it lacks context or verification. www.niemanlab.org/2026/03/afte...

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

"A small club."

Today's article pick from Damn History, a free newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to writer @markarms.bsky.social & @niemanstoryboard.org!

Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe

niemanstoryboard.org/2026/02/19/t...

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

Roy Peter Clark on storytelling lessons for — and from — students - Nieman Storyboard How to write a college admissions essay. Plus: National Magazine Award finalists

My Friday newsletter for @niemanstoryboard.org: Featuring Roy Peter Clark on storytelling lessons for students, National Magazine Award finalists + @joepompeo.bsky.social @wearesfj.bsky.social @longlead.com

niemanstoryboard.org/2026/02/27/r...

“The very notion of journalism is being flattened,” Mariou said. “It can leave you feeling like you can’t breathe.”

niemanreports.org/french-media...

mariou in a navy t shirt and khaki pants stands in front of a fountain in lagrasse, france

Last summer, veteran journalist Jean-Michel Mariou launched an independent publication, Le Matin des Corbières, in response to the decline of local media and the consolidation of national outlets.

niemanreports.org/french-media...

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?

Embracing France’s robust tradition of antiestablishment, left-leaning journalism, a surge of new outlets aim to be overtly political, with an agenda meant to appeal to younger readers and counter the country’s dramatic shift to the right.

niemanreports.org/french-media...

Sudan's Journalists Risk Everything to Cover a War the World Ignores - 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 everything to cover a war the world ignores.

More than 30 journalists have been killed since fighting broke out in 2023. Those still working continue to face danger and a shrinking international audience.

niemanreports.org/sudan-civil-...

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?

“[The youth] prefer media that take a strong position, notably on questions like inequality ... and social justice," said academic Nikos Smyrnaois. "Their era calls for it.”

niemanreports.org/french-media...

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?

"We cannot say that as journalists we will just [treat] fascist parties or fascist excesses like any other news event," @salomesaque.bsky.social of @blast-info.fr told Nieman Reports.

niemanreports.org/french-media...

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.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen as big of a disconnect between the scale of a crisis and the scale of media coverage in my life. ... The scale of the suffering in Sudan is so high and because the [media] coverage is abominably low.”

niemanreports.org/sudan-civil-...