American members of the 50th class of Nieman Fellows will bring eight men and four women to Harvard for a year of study, University officials announced.
The fellows will take courses throughout the University and will attend special seminars. Applicants for the fellowship must submit a proposal of study to the selection committee, and if named a finalist must be interviewed. Foreign recipients of the honor will be announced later this month.
"It's kind of like being a kid in a candy store--to be able to look at [Harvard] through the eyes of an allegedly mature adult," said future Fellow Eugene Robinson, city editor of the Washington Post.
"I think everybody gets a little something different out of it," said future Fellow William Dietrich, a reporter for the Seattle Times. "When you get out in the world you don't always have time to stop--the University is handing out an opportunity to do that," said Dietrich, adding that most of the Journalists selected are in their mid-thirties, and ready to take stock of their careers.
Dietrich said the Nieman fellowship is attractive because of Harvard's prestige and the high caliber of the program's participants. Distinguished alumni of the program include columnists Ellen Goodman '63 and Tom Wicker and Pulitzer Prize-winning authors J. Anthony Lukas '55 and Anthony Lewis '48.
Robinson says his stay will provide a welcome break from the routine of a city editor. "It's a wonderful experience to work at a totally different pace...to add to the portfolio of what you know," he said.
Both said their studies at Harvard will be related to their work and will help them gain new perspectives on topics they plan to write about on their return.
Dietrich intends to concentrate in the areas of history, American religious thought and economics to aid in his coverage of national security issues, and of the new religious currents he sees developing in the Northwest.
"I also want to use the year to just plug some holes in my education," said Dietrich. "The additional education will be of value in my future work--it will show up in my stories and how I do them."
Focusing on Latin American history, and the Spanish language, Robinson said he plans to leave his job as editor next year to return to reporting. He plans to concentrate his work on Latin American immigrants to the United States.
Other Nieman Fellows include Elinor Brecher of The Louisville [KY] Courier-Journal, Frank Del Olmo of The Los Angeles Times, Robert Hitt III, of The Columbia Record, John MacCormack of the Dallas Times Herald, Dale Maharidge of The Sacramento Bee, Michele McDonald of The Virginian-Pilot, Eileen McNamara May of The Boston Globe, Lindsay Miller, a producer with Public Broadcasting Service, William Sutton, of The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Gene Weingarten, of the Miami Herald.
The Nieman Foundation plans to celebrate its 50th anniversary in the spring of 1989 with a weekend of symposia and festivities. Simons said the celebration will be delayed because the presidential campaigns of the preceding year will occupy most of the nation's top journalists.
