August 2021
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U.S. soldiers stand guard on Aug. 16 along a perimeter at the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, where thousands of Afghans became trapped by the sudden Taliban takeover. (AP Photo/Shekib Rahmani)


** From the editor
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The news from Afghanistan is harrowing, with thousands of desperate people — including many Afghan journalists newly targeted by the Taliban — trying to flee the country. The bombing that killed 13 U.S. troops and scores of Afghans on Thursday near Abbey Gate, a main entrance to Hamid Karzai International Airport, only increased the already pervasive sense of terror.

The horrific scenes at the airport raised haunting parallels with the evacuation at the U.S. embassy in Saigon. But Nieman Reports columnist Issac Bailey argues that, for journalists, the best comparison with what’s happening now in Afghanistan is not Vietnam in 1975 but the fall of Baghdad in 2003 ([link removed]) .

Bailey recalls the heady coverage of April 9, 2003, when U.S. soldiers pulled down an iconic statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad. Far from signaling a decisive military victory, however, that event marked the beginning of a long and brutal war, motivations for which were not sufficiently questioned in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

As the political recriminations begin around America’s chaotic Afghan exit, Bailey asks, “Why didn’t we do a better job in 2003 to help our audiences understand that the decision to enter Iraq was always going to affect what was happening in Afghanistan? ... Which are the quiet voices that need amplification to provide perspectives that are missing from our coverage today?”

Also for Nieman Reports, Celeste Katz Marston profiles six local news outlets helping audiences understand the places sometimes dismissed in national conversations as “flyover country.” ([link removed]) These newsrooms seek to overturn a corrosive dynamic — a shrinking local media mixed with imprecise, city-crafted spot coverage — that has contributed to polarization and media distrust.

As Farai Chideya, host of the "Our Body Politic" podcast, says in Marston’s piece: “What I think is culturally competent, [and what] I'd like to see more of, is people [being] empowered to cultivate long-term sources in rural communities that they treat with the same respect that they treat sources on Capitol Hill.”

Sincerely,

James Geary
Editor, Nieman Reports
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** Six Rural News Outlets Trying to Bridge the Information Divide ([link removed])
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These local newsrooms are helping audiences better understand the places sometimes dismissed as "flyover country"

Read more ([link removed])

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** How NFTs Could Lead to A Serious Business Opportunity for News Organizations ([link removed])
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The media's first step into blockchain may be a dead end, but what grows out of it could have impact

Read more ([link removed])

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** The Real Meaning of “He’s No Angel” for Journalism ([link removed])
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Why an artist’s angelic rendering of George Floyd could help change the way journalists describe victims of police violence

Read more ([link removed])


** More from Nieman Foundation publications:
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How the loss of one Olympic story led to gold on another ([link removed])

Wall Street Journal sports reporter Ben Cohen found a surprising profile of an unlikely Olympian in previous notes, then used Zoom to bring it to life

Read more from Nieman Storyboard ([link removed]) .

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Apple now wants to be your “News Partner” (meaning they’ll let you keep more of your readers’ cash if you join Apple News) ([link removed])
For the vast majority of news outlets, Apple’s cut of a subscription sold on an iPhone will now drop from 30% to 15%. Will that change any publishers’ minds?

Read more from Nieman Lab ([link removed]) .
Read more from Nieman Reports ([link removed])
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