LBJ biographer Robert Caro, Nieman Fellow ’66, shares anecdotes from his career in an interview with The Washington Post's Anne Hull, Nieman Fellow '95. The Nieman Foundation celebrated its 75th anniversary at The Charles Hotel on Saturday.
Robert A. Caro, a 1966 Nieman Fellow and an acclaimed biographer of Lyndon B. Johnson, described his decades-long journey of uncovering the former president’s life and political career in front of an audience of other Nieman Fellows on Saturday as part of the Nieman Foundation’s 75th anniversary celebration.
For his research, Caro said he moved to the Hill Country region of Texas to further understand Johnson’s upbringing and developed close relationships with the president’s family and acquaintances. The former president had a duality as an opportunist who “had a real problem with the truth” and a visionary who fought against poverty and race issues, Caro said.
More than 1,400 past fellows and Neiman affiliates from as early as 1963 came to Harvard from all over the world to celebrate foundation’s anniversary this weekend. The series of events included Soundings—a Nieman tradition where fellows share their journalistic backgrounds and experiences—and a presentation of the I.F. Stone Medal for Journalistic Independence to Jane Mayer of The New Yorker.
The events on Saturday began with “The 90-Minute Nieman,” during which Harvard and MIT faculty offered inspirational messages to the journalists.
“During our Nieman year, it’s a year of constant thought-provoking messages, but we don’t [usually] get this kind of thing,” said Geneva Overholser, a professor at the University of Southern California and a 1986 Nieman Fellow. “So all of us now, coming together, and getting to hear from these tremendous speakers, it’s been wonderful.”
Since its establishment in 1938, the Nieman Foundation has hosted over 1,300 fellows, including 102 Pulitzer Prize winners.
This reunion is “just a way for people to relive their Nieman year,” Ellen Tuttle, a spokesperson for the foundation, said.
Each year the foundation hosts 12 U.S. and 12 international journalists for a 10-month stay at Harvard to explore any topic of interest to them. During their time at Harvard, the fellows have access to classes, professors, seminars, and master classes. The foundation also hosts a few visiting fellows for a shorter period of time each year.
Read more in News
16-Year-Old Pakistani Activist Receives Harvard Humanitarian AwardRecommended Articles
-
Nieman Fellow Wins International AwardHollman Morris Rincon, a Colombian journalist and Nieman Fellow who was initially denied a visa this summer to study in the United States, was recently awarded the 2011 Nuremberg International Human Rights Award for his coverage of human rights violations in Colombia.
-
Somali Journalist Recognized for Brave CoverageMohamed Olad Hassan, a Somali journalist who has covered the people of his nation amid dangerous insurgency over the last ...
-
Lipinski Selected As New Nieman CuratorFollowing an extensive search process, Pulitzer Prize winner Ann Marie Lipinski has been selected as the next curator of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism, Harvard announced Tuesday.
-
Nieman Reporter Focuses on EnvironmentIn 2001, a research team in Manhattan discovered unexplained levels of polychlorinated biphenyl toxins in samples of human breast milk.
-
Twenty Four Nieman Fellows AnnouncedTwenty-four journalists who work in media ranging from newspapers and magazines to radio and television have been chosen for the 2011-2012 class of Nieman Fellows, the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard announced on Tuesday.
-
An Interview with Nieman Fellow Jen B. McDonald
