Farooq Ahmed used to be on Twitter a lot. The D.C.-based science journalist and novelist posted plenty of hot takes, diving into wide-ranging discussions of the day’s most pressing events with pithy humor. He even invented a hashtag, #mybrownass, for … Read more
A reunion is a corrective, a response to a period of separation. Families, colleges, even countries reunite, often in celebration, sometimes in longing. In the five years since the last Nieman Fellows reunion, the world has been torn by pandemic … Read more
I was done. Absolutely done with writing, and especially done with writing books. This was in 2008, and I had just finished my book “Rin Tin Tin.” It was a story of the most famous dog in Hollywood, and it … Read more
This month has been brutal for journalism jobs. The Los Angeles Times laid off 115 employees. Time announced layoffs that the magazine’s guild said amounted to 15% of staff. Univision announced 200 layoffs and Conde Nast folded the … Read more
There are things that you think would never happen to you, like an airplane crash — or a war. As a child, every time the TV was on, I heard the words Bosnia and Herzegovina. These two words stuck with … Read more
They asked us to talk about stories we can’t let go of. The first thing that popped into my head was … Shiiiiiit. No really. That’s my answer. I can’t let go of shit. I guess I gotta go all … Read more
I was born in a country that was first to have television in Sub-Saharan Africa, but today it is the only African country with just one television station, which is owned by the state and run by an Orwellian-type Ministry … Read more
April 4, 1983 was the 15th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination. The day before was a Sunday, and I was with my family in the virtually all-white church we attended in Memphis. I was 11 and naive … Read more
In 2023, the news sector cut 2,681 jobs — nearly double the jobs lost in all of 2022 and 2021 combined. If you’ve experienced a journalism layoff or buyout since 2022, we want to hear from you for a … Read more
On Feb. 17, 2022, French billionaire Vincent Bolloré officially retired as chairman of his family’s business after more than 40 years leading the company. The event took place in the family stronghold, in a small village on the Western coast … Read more
