28 Nieman Fellows at Harvard Selected

By: E&P Staff The Nieman Fellows at Harvard University for 2006-2007 were named today, the 28 U.S. and international journalists joining more than 1,100 others selected since 1938.

They earn an academic year of study at the university.

Here are the U.S. members of the Class of 2006-2007 from newspapers, with their areas of interest, as described by the Nieman statement:

Gina Acosta, editorial page copy editor at The Washington Post, will study the fiscal consequences of U.S. immigration policy and the participation of ethnic and religious minorities in public life.

Christopher Cousins, reporter for The Times Record/Brunswick (Maine) Publishing Company, will study the events, trends and forecasts that bred the perception of Maine as an overtaxed, underachieving and economically disadvantaged state struggling for a position in the emerging world economy. Cousins is the Donald W. Reynolds Nieman Fellow in Community Journalism, with funding provided by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation.

Dexter Filkins, Baghdad correspondent for The New York Times, will study the interaction between the West and Islamic world since the September 11 attacks, with special emphasis on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Evelyn Hern?ndez, opinion page editor of El Diario/La Prensa, will study the role of media in preserving Hispanic institutions, communities and identity and building new ones, given the ongoing changes in the U.S. Hispanic population.

Ian Johnson, reporter/editor in Berlin for The Wall Street Journal, will study the role of religion and civil society in societies under stress.

David Kohn, medical and science reporter at The Sun, Baltimore, Md., will study international public health, including the politics of HIV prevention, global mental illness and the idea of war as a public health problem. Kohn is a Nieman Fellow in Global Health Reporting, with funding provided by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Cameron McWhirter, staff writer/metro at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, will study the role of race riots in creating and shaping the segregated geography of urban America.

James Scott, general assignment reporter for The Post and Courier, Charleston, S.C., will study the exploitation of Latinos in the U.S. labor force and the rise of anti-immigrant legislation.

Tini Tran, Vietnam bureau chief for The Associated Press, will study the link between market reforms and democracy in China's model of governance and its subsequent impact in shaping Asia's future.

Craig Welch, environment reporter at The Seattle Times, will study how rapid globalization influences illegal markets for natural resources at home and abroad.

The U.S. fellows were selected by Cecilia Alvear, an NBC producer and 1989 Nieman Fellow; Hodding Carter III, University Professor of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and a 1966 Nieman Fellow; Kathleen Molony, director of the Weatherhead Fellows Program in International Studies at Harvard; and Ken Winston, a lecturer in political and professional ethics at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government. Bob Giles, Nieman Foundation curator and a 1966 Nieman Fellow, chaired the committee.