The Daily News was also bombed on two occasions, he has been arrested six times and received two death threats.

“The issuing of a warrant of arrest across the Atlantic is, therefore, less terrifying an experience than being dragged from bed at midnight...by complete strangers,” Nyarota said.

When Nyarota started The Daily News in 1999, it was the only non-government controlled paper in Zimbabwe.

Two years after The Daily News started, it was the country’s most widely-read paper, boasting a circulation of 100,000.

Nyarota left Zimbabwe in December after The Daily News’ new chief executive—whom Mr. Nyarota believes is connected to the government—dismissed him.

Since arriving at Harvard, Nyarota said he has been adjusting to a “rigorous academic regime” after being a journalist for 25 years.

Nyarota said meeting journalists from around the nation and the world has been a highlight of his experience in Cambridge.

“Learning how differently [other journalists] conduct their journalism has been an education in itself,” he said.

Though his return to Zimbabwe depends on “demonstrable improvement” in the country’s political situation, Nyarota said he hopes to return home someday.

“I believe there will still be a role for me to play in the media,” he said. “I am a very enterprising person.”