Nieman Lab is an academic and media outlet focused on the practice of journalism housed within the Nieman Foundation at Harvard University. Nieman Lab publishes The Daily Digest, a bi-weekly newsletter, and hosts stories regarding the development of the field of journalism during the digital age.

History

The Nieman Foundation for Journalism was founded within Harvard University in 1938 to teach journalism and develop its practice. It administers the oldest journalism fellowship program in the world. ^{1 2}

In 2008, the Nieman Foundation created Nieman Lab, a program to develop the study of journalism in the internet age. Nieman Lab states that the internet has “destabilized the old business models that have supported quality journalism for decades” and therefore new journalistic methods need to be developed. Nieman Lab contends that it is “fundamentally optimistic” about the future of journalism. ³

Predictions

Nieman Lab publishes an annual series on “predictions” about the future of journalism from prominent journalists, some of whom espouse left-of-center views. ⁴

For example, in 2023, left-of-center journalist Taylor Lorenz published a piece claiming that much of the new journalism landscape will consist of independent journalists working for their own platforms or small outlets. However, many popular journalists, like Bari Weiss and Chaya Raichik, would convert into “right-wing content creators… simply selling old, legacy power structures back to the public in new shiny packaging.” ⁵

In 2024, Singaporean journalist Gina Chua predicted that mainstream news outlets would increasingly adopt right-of-center views, especially skepticism of transgenderism. ⁶

Also in 2024, journalist Janelle Salanga claimed that the mainstream media will continue to punish journalists who express left-of-center views on race, resulting in “segregation in those newsrooms and in mainstream journalism at large.” ⁷

Controversy

Nieman Lab was founded by Harvard journalist Joshua Benton, who worked as its director until 2020 and remains as a senior writer. ⁸ In July 2021, Benton and Harvard were sued by Francesca Viola, an assistant professor at Temple University, for defamation after Benton revealed Viola’s anonymous username that she had used on Nieman Lab’s website and other websites to leave comments, including a series of comments promoting controversial right-of-center views. ⁹

Benton used his moderation power on Nieman Lab’s website to reveal Viola’s username identity in violation of the terms of service of Disqus, the commenting platform. He then posted on Twitter about Viola and the username, resulting in Viola becoming a “social pariah” and getting targeted by a campaign to get her fired from Temple, though Temple issued a statement defending her right to free speech. After facing backlash, Benton apologized and admitted that he did not “adhere to rigorous reporting methods.” Viola’s suit claimed that Benton violated the terms of service to which Viola agreed when commenting on Nieman Lab and that Benton misrepresented her in his Tweet. ¹⁰

In July 2021, a federal judge ruled that the defamation suit could proceed. ¹¹

Funding

In 2019 and 2020, the Nieman Lab received funding from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. ¹²

In 2018, the Nieman Lab received funding from the George Soros’s Open Society Foundations. ¹³

1. “Green Bay Press-Gazette.” Newspaper.com. February 16, 1938. Accessed March 13, 2024. https://www.newspapers.com/image/187420841.
2. “About Nieman Lab.” Nieman Lab. Accessed March 13, 2024. https://www.niemanlab.org/about/#:~:text=Established%20in%201938%2C%20the%20Nieman,and%20exploration%20at%20Harvard%20University.
3. “About Nieman Lab.” Nieman Lab. Accessed March 13, 2024. https://www.niemanlab.org/about/#:~:text=Established%20in%201938%2C%20the%20Nieman,and%20exploration%20at%20Harvard%20University.
4. “Nieman Lab. Predictions for Journalism, 2024.” Nieman Lab. Accessed March 13, 2024. https://www.niemanlab.org/collection/predictions-2024/.
5. ^[1] Lorenz, Taylor. “Taylor Lorenz.” Nieman Lab. Accessed March 13, 2024. https://www.niemanlab.org/2022/12/the-creator-economy-will-be-astroturfed/.
6. Chua, Gina. “Too many news orgs adopt right-wing frames about trans people.” Nieman Lab. Accessed March 13, 2024. https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/12/too-many-news-orgs-adopt-right-wing-frames-about-trans-people/.
7. Salanga, Janelle. “Newsrooms will refuse to reckon with their hypocrisy — again.” Nieman Lab. Accessed March 13, 2024. https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/12/newsrooms-will-refuse-to-reckon-with-their-hypocrisy-again/.
8. “Articles by Joshua Benton.” Nieman Lab. Accessed March 13, 2024. https://www.niemanlab.org/author/jbenton/.
9. Grueskin, Brue. “How a Twitter thread sparked a lawsuit against Nieman Lab’s founder.” Columbia Journalism Review. July 19, 2021. Accessed March 13, 2024. https://www.cjr.org/opinion/nieman-lab-lawsuit-joshua-benton-francesca-viola.php.
10. Grueskin, Brue. “How a Twitter thread sparked a lawsuit against Nieman Lab’s founder.” Columbia Journalism Review. July 19, 2021. Accessed March 13, 2024. https://www.cjr.org/opinion/nieman-lab-lawsuit-joshua-benton-francesca-viola.php.
11. Grueskin, Brue. “How a Twitter thread sparked a lawsuit against Nieman Lab’s founder.” Columbia Journalism Review. July 19, 2021. Accessed March 13, 2024. https://www.cjr.org/opinion/nieman-lab-lawsuit-joshua-benton-francesca-viola.php.
12. “2021 Annual Report.” Nieman Foundation Accessed March 13, 2024. https://nieman.harvard.edu/sites/2021-annual-report/financials/.
13. “2018 Annual Report.” Nieman Foundation. Accessed March 13, 2024. https://nieman.harvard.edu/sites/2018-annual-report/financials/.