Neiman Foundation Names New Fellows

Harvard's Nieman Foundation announced Tuesday that it had named 12 American journalists as fellows for the coming year.

Since the first 10 fellows were selected in 1938, nearly 1,000 of the world's top journalists have spent a year at Harvard through the foundation.

During the year, they audit courses and participate in weekly discussion groups. More than 50 former fellows have won Pulitzer Prizes, and three have earned the Golden Pen, the highest international honor for writers.

This year's fellows include journalists with interests ranging from aging to immigration.

Lori Olszewski from the San Francisco Chronicle is interested in African, Mexican and Asian history and culture, as well as child development.

"I am from the south side of Chicago; let's just say it's been a long road from there to Harvard," Olszewski quipped.

"After 22 years of working full-time at daily newspapers, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to study at one of the world's best universities," she added.

Jim Morrill from The Charlotte Observer plans to focus on issues of race and ethnicity, as do Thrity Umrigar, a writer for the Akron Beacon Journal, and the Richmond Times' Michael Paul Williams.

"I look forward to availing myself of the resources and brainpower of the institution as a whole," Williams said. "I want to challenge and test my intuitions and asumptions about race relationships; I want to expand my ideas outside of the Richmond vacuum."

Carol Eisenberg, from Long Island's Newsday, and the Miami Herald's Stephen Smith will study health care.

Bill Krueger from the Raleigh News and Observer will focus on the social issues of aging.

Mary Kay Magistad, China correspondent for National Public Radio (NPR), is interested in societal healing after violent conflict. Also from NPR, David Molpus will look at contemporary workplace issues.

Patrick McDonnell from the Los Angeles Times will study immigration and assimilation.

Deborah Schoch from the Los Angeles Times will study a variety of environmental topics, and Jerry Zremski plans to look into government policy and its effect on the national economy.

Each fellow is granted a 10-month stay at Harvard, during which they can audit courses from both the College and the graduate schools. Housing is not provided, but they are given a $35,000 stipend to help cover living expenses.

In addition to studying in their field of interest, fellows participate in two weekly discussions at Lippmann House. One discussion focuses on journalism-related topics like ethics and the economy of the press, while the other is more general, including past speakers like DuBois Professor of the Humanities Henry Louis Gates Jr.and country singer Mary Chapin Carpenter.

Additionally, participants take turns each week presenting their particular interests and career experience to the group.

Being a Nieman Fellow also affords access to a rapidly growing e-mail network of alumni and current participants.

The Nieman Foundation was established in 1937 by Agnes Wahl Nieman, a Yale alumnus, in honor of her husband Lucius W. Nieman, founder of The Milwaukee Journal. Her goal was "to promote and elevate the standards of journalism and educate persons deemed especially qualified for journalism."

The Nieman program is available to any mid-career journalist who works full-time and has at least three years of experience. The application process includes a brief biography, a study proposal and a portfolio of recent work.

This year the Foundation received approximately 100 applications for each candidate category. Foundation Curator Bill Kovach attested to the consistent quality of each year's class of fellows, but said he was particularly confident in the new class's ability to carry the Nieman Foundation into the 21st century.

"I think the problems that we all complain about with journalism in this country have more to do with the way news organizations are organized than with the quality of the talent available," he said. "This year's class just reinforces that belief."