NIEMAN REPORTS the NIEMAN FOUNDATION for JOURNALISM at HARVARD UNIVERSITY VOL.57 NO.4 WINTER 2003 Five Dollars
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NIEMAN REPORTS THE NIEMAN FOUNDATION FOR JOURNALISM AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY VOL.57 NO.4 WINTER 2003 Five Dollars Can Newspapers Reach the Young? Journalist’s Trade: California Recall Coverage Words and Reflections: Coverage of War and Terrorism “… to promote and elevate the standards of journalism” —Agnes Wahl Nieman, the benefactor of the Nieman Foundation. Vol. 57 No. 4 NIEMAN REPORTS Winter 2003 THE NIEMAN FOUNDATION FOR JOURNALISM AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY Publisher Bob Giles Editor Melissa Ludtke Assistant Editor Lois Fiore Editorial Assistant Elizabeth Son Design Editor Deborah Smiley Nieman Reports (USPS #430-650) is published Editorial in March, June, September and December Telephone: 617-496-6308 by the Nieman Foundation at Harvard University, E-Mail Address: One Francis Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138-2098. [email protected] Subscriptions/Business Internet Address: Telephone: 617-496-2968 www.nieman.harvard.edu E-Mail Address: [email protected] Copyright 2003 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. Subscription $20 a year, $35 for two years; add $10 per year for foreign airmail. Single copies $5. Second-class postage paid at Boston, Back copies are available from the Nieman office. Massachusetts and additional entries. Please address all subscription correspondence to POSTMASTER: One Francis Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138-2098 Send address changes to and change of address information to Nieman Reports, P.O. Box 4951, Manchester, NH 03108. P.O. Box 4951, ISSN Number 0028-9817 Manchester, NH 03108. Vol. 57 No. 4 NIEMAN REPORTS Winter 2003 THE NIEMAN FOUNDATION FOR JOURNALISM AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY 4 Young Readers 6 When Teens Own a Part of the Newspaper BY LISA SCHEID 10 Approaching the End of the ‘Monomedia’ Era BY THOMAZ SOUTO CORRÊA 12 Are We Reaching Da Youth? BY DANNY SCHECHTER 14 Solving Some Mysteries About the Habits of the Young BY JOHN K. HARTMAN 16 Lessons Worth Learning About Young Readers BY TOM CURLEY 17 The Washington Post Reaches Out to Young Readers INTERVIEW WITH STEVE COLL 21 Retaining the Core While Reaching Out to the Young BY HENRY B. HAITZ III 24 How a Newspaper Becomes ‘H.I.P.’ BY COLLEEN POHLIG 27 Drawing Young Urban Commuters to a New Tabloid BY JOE KNOWLES 29 Meshing Young Ideas With Older Sensibilities BY ELAINE KRAMER 32 Connecting What Is Learned With What Is Done BY JENNIFER CARROLL 34 Targeting Young Women as Newspaper Readers BY NICOLE CARROLL 37 Writing Stories to Reach Young Adults BY LESLIE KOREN 39 Practicing Journalism in Elementary Classrooms BY LEAH KOHLENBERG 42 Opening Up to Kids BY SHAWN MOYNIHAN 43 L.A. Youth Partners With the Los Angeles Times BY DONNA C. MYROW 45 Mixing Young and Old to Create a New Approach BY ELLIN O’LEARY 47 Journalist’s Trade Reporting California’s Recall Election 48 The Campaigning of Political Reporters BY MARK SIMON 50 The Anger Journalists Never Fully Understood BY JIM BETTINGER 53 Campaign Coverage Without the Candidates BY MARJIE LUNDSTROM 56 Celebrity Transforms Political Coverage BY DAN WALTERS 58 Scuttlebutt and Speculation Fill a Political Weblog BY DANIEL WEINTRAUB 59 Lights, Camera, Recall BY CECILIA ALVEAR AND GEORGE LEWIS WATCHDOGWATCHD61 Tracking Money in the California Recall Election BY DAN MORAIN 64 Covering the Recall for a Spanish-Speaking Audience BY PILAR MARRERO 66 Wondering What a Political Story Is BY ELLEN CIURCZAK 69 Words & Reflections War and Terror 71 Dissent: Public Opinion, Media Reaction BY MARVIN KALB 74 How and Why Leaking of Secrets Happen EXCERPTS FROM A BOOK CHAPTER BY JACK NELSON 75 Reporting From Baghdad During the War EXCERPTS FROM A BOOK BY ANNE GARRELS 77 An Oral History Tells Stories Seldom Heard During the War BY BILL KATOVSKY 82 Patriotism and Journalism EXCERPTS FROM A BOOK BY DANNY SCHECHTER 83 ‘Baghdad Blues: A War Diary’ BY DAVID TURNLEY 87 A Documentary Examines Cable News War Coverage BY MARGIE REEDY 89 Reporting From the Battlefield EXCERPTS FROM A BOOK BY HAROLD EVANS 89 When Journalists Report in Dangerous Places EXCERPTS FROM A BOOK BY THE COMMITTEE TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS 91 International Journalism 91 Lessons From SARS Coverage BY SUN YU 93 Pressures for Media Reform in Korea BY KWANGCHOOL LEE 3 Curator’s Corner: The New Knight Center at Walter Lippmann House BY BOB GILES 96 Nieman Notes COMPILED BY LOIS FIORE 96 The Watchdog Journalism Project Moves to the Web BY BARRY SUSSMAN 97 Class Notes 102 End Note: Exploring the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge BY RICHARD READ 2 Nieman Reports / Winter 2003 Curator’s Corner The New Knight Center at Walter Lippmann House ‘To the Niemans, there is no stationary state.’ By Bob Giles ohn Kenneth Galbraith, the Paul M. Warburg Professor of Center. Hodding Carter III, president and CEO of the Knight Economics Emeritus at Harvard University and a friend Foundation, said: “Nothing could please us more than to be Jto generations of Nieman Fellows, once observed that associated so closely with the Nieman program. Its objec- “There is nothing about this program that can be consid- tives are ours and help further exactly the kind of journalism ered finished. Nothing that can be considered normal. To that the Knight brothers supported in their newspapers for the Niemans, there is no stationary state.” Galbraith brings a so long.” Carter was a Nieman Fellow in 1966 and his father, long perspective to this matter. He was a young economics Hodding Carter, Jr., was in the second class of fellows in instructor when the program began in 1938 and, through 1940. the years, has had more discussions with Nieman classes The Knight Foundation’s gift is particularly meaningful than anyone at the university. for its exemplary vision and support of education for jour- This spirit of “no stationary state” is reflected in the recent nalists and the innovative programs that fulfill this mission. addition to Walter Lippmann House, which was completed John S. Knight was the editor of the Akron Beacon Journal this fall and has quickly become the center of activities for the and a powerful influence in my early days on the paper as a current class of Nieman Fellows. reporter and later as executive editor. J.S.K. was a plainspoken The idea for expansion grew from the reality that Lippmann Ohio editor who became a national figure as chairman of House simply didn’t have enough room to accommodate a Knight Newspapers. He was much admired for his virtue as growing staff and the expanding activities of the Nieman an editorialist who spoke his mind with clarity and honesty program. As our thinking evolved, Charles Sullivan, execu- and as a newspaper executive who put journalism ahead of tive director of the Cambridge Historical Commission, cau- the bottom line. The Nieman Foundation will formally tioned, “Don’t attempt to replicate an 1836 house.” The dedicate the Knight Center on May 24, 2004. At that time, we architects listened and proposed a garden room design, expect to recognize other major contributors for whom which has emerged as a graceful complement to the original rooms in Knight Center might be named. Greek Revival building that became the home of the Nieman Fundraising is a skill that does not come easily or naturally Foundation in 1978. to journalists. Each of my predecessors has struggled with The new wing has created an improved learning environ- this reality as he tried to meet the obligation of adding to the ment for the Nieman Fellows. The seminar room, with high Nieman endowment from time to time in the interest of ceilings, wood paneling, comfortable seating and a multi- enlarging the program and providing a richer experience for functional audio-visual center, is already demonstrating its the fellows. The task before us now is to pay down a versatility as a place for seminars, dinners, film and video mortgage of four million dollars. At a university where the showings, small conferences, and social gatherings. On the endowment exceeds $19 billion and fundraising is an art, lower level, the Bill Kovach Library is now a quiet place for this amount might seem small. But for a journalist, raising reading and talking that brings together in one place the that amount is a daunting goal. books that have been scattered on shelves throughout The Nieman legacy and the opportunity it offers 24 Lippmann House. It also provides a place to display special journalists each year is now strengthened by the splendid collections, such as bound volumes of the newspaper PM new setting in the Knight Center at Walter Lippmann House. and books that came as gifts from Nieman Fellows. Next to For many who remember the Nieman experience as a gift the library is the computer learning center, where fellows beyond measure, a donation is an opportunity to help can check e-mail, work on the Internet, and participate in extend this legacy for new generations of midcareer journal- training programs such as the computer-assisted reporting ists who have demonstrated accomplishment, a deep com- class that is offered every January. mitment to excellence, and leadership potential. ■ A new structure of this kind has to be paid for, of course, and the foundation has made a strong start toward this goal. [email protected] The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation of Miami provided the lead gift for the Lippmann House project. To honor this generous gift, as well as recognize the Knight Foundation’s long support of both the Nieman Foundation and Harvard University, the wing will be known as the Knight Nieman Reports / Winter 2003 3 Young Readers Newspaper reading isn’t a daily habit for most young people. Instead they catch headlines on Web sites, share opinions on Weblogs, and see breaking news alerts along TV scroll bars.