Nieman Foundation Names 12 Int'l Fellows

An owner of a banned radio station in Serbia, an editor of a newspaper in Tehran and a news anchor for the Korean Broadcasting System Evening News are among the 12 international journalists named Nieman Foundation fellows for 1999-2000.

The group will join 12 journalists from the United States in the program, which brings mid-career journalists with at least three years of experience to Cambridge.

"I wasn't really looking for anymore academic credentials. I don't need another degree," said Laura Lynch, a national reporter for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. "I wanted to step back a bit from what I'm doing."

Lynch will spend her time at Harvard studying human rights in different countries. She has covered the Canadian Supreme Court and justice department extensively.

During their year long stay, Nieman fellows audit Harvard courses and participate in weekly discussion groups. Alumni of the program have earned more than 50 Pulitzer Prizes, as well as three Golden Pen awards, the most prestigious honor available to international journalists.

The Nieman fellowships offer the oldest mid-career program for journalists in the country. Started in 1938, the program has included international journalists since 1952.

The brainchild of Agnes Y. Nieman, the endowed fellowships were proposed to the Harvard Corporation by then-President James B. Conant '14 as an alternative to a school of journalism.

According to Lynch, American and Canadian journalists have much to learn from their counterparts who work in more difficult situations.

"I imagine I'll learn as much from them as I'll learn from my classes," she said.

A notable exclusion from the foundation's announcement was Kin-ming Liu, a prominent Hong Kong journalist.

Controversy has erupted since Liu's initial offer of an international fellowship by the Nieman Foundation was revoked after the foundation learned Liu no longer worked for the publication from which he had applied for the fellowship.

"[Liu] applied from one newspaper and then changed jobs, without notifying us," Nieman Curator Bill Kovach said of the foundation's reasons for rescinding Liu's offer earlier this month.

Liu said he quit his job as the opinion page editor at Hong Kong's Economic Daily because of censorship. He now holds the same position for the Apple Daily, another daily newspaper in Hong Kong.

In addition to Lynch, the fellows for 1999-2000 include Mark Chavundaka from Zimbabwe, Dennis Cruywage from South Africa and Nikola Djuric from Serbia.

Also named as fellows were Ragip Duran from Turkey; Aytul Gurtas, also from Turkey; Andreas Harsono from Indonesia; Tatsuya Inose from Japan; Rakesh Kalshian from India; and Lee Kwangchool from South Korea

A notable exclusion from the foundation's announcement was Kin-ming Liu, a prominent Hong Kong journalist.

Controversy has erupted since Liu's initial offer of an international fellowship by the Nieman Foundation was revoked after the foundation learned Liu no longer worked for the publication from which he had applied for the fellowship.

"[Liu] applied from one newspaper and then changed jobs, without notifying us," Nieman Curator Bill Kovach said of the foundation's reasons for rescinding Liu's offer earlier this month.

Liu said he quit his job as the opinion page editor at Hong Kong's Economic Daily because of censorship. He now holds the same position for the Apple Daily, another daily newspaper in Hong Kong.

In addition to Lynch, the fellows for 1999-2000 include Mark Chavundaka from Zimbabwe, Dennis Cruywage from South Africa and Nikola Djuric from Serbia.

Also named as fellows were Ragip Duran from Turkey; Aytul Gurtas, also from Turkey; Andreas Harsono from Indonesia; Tatsuya Inose from Japan; Rakesh Kalshian from India; and Lee Kwangchool from South Korea