Nieman Foundation Launches Watchdog Site

By: Jennifer Saba The Nieman Foundation launched a new Web site Wednesday -- NiemanWatchdog.org -- as a way to start an ongoing discussion among journalists, experts and media consumers. The announcement was posted earlier today on Poynter.org.

The site will serve many purposes, Barry Sussman, editor of NiemanWatchdog.org, told E&P. For one thing, it will help connect journalists with various experts from Harvard University and other respected organizations that focus on politics and government. It will also act as a tip service about worthy topics in the news and those stories that should be covered more adequately.

"We're in a tricky business -- and if we're going to be judged by the best work it's a marvelous field, but that's only the top," Sussman said. "I don't want to be somebody who's bad-mouthing reporting. We want to give people tips on stories and over the long haul, create a discussion for people in the business."

To do that, the site is aimed at three audiences: reporters and editors, publishers and key editors and concerned citizens. "I have in mind connecting reporters and editors from smaller news organizations in print and broadcast around the country with experts," he said. "I don't think we're going to be a great help to The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal."

Top management is encouraged to join the fray: "I don't think people come into this profession not wanting to do good work. But an impression must be made on publishers and key editors. Publishers determine what's in the paper or what TV coverage is going to be like. Most coverage is marvelous but many publishers only look at the bottom line. We want to remind them that they have an obligation," Sussman said.

For the most part, Sussman hopes to refresh the site every day with important stories. Today it features an article about the United States' nuclear arsenal and the fact that Russia is still considered the main target. "It's a story not on our chart," Sussman said. "The story is months old, but what's the difference? The problem is still with us."

NiemanWatchdog.org sprang from the Nieman Foundation's Watchdog Project, founded in 1996 with a grant given by Murrey Marder, a former diplomatic correspondent of The Washington Post and a Nieman fellow. The project addressed many questions around journalism but found the discussion quickly tapered off. The best means to keep the fires stoked was to launch a Web site.

Sussman was a Washington Post editor for 22 years and most notably, he directed the paper's coverage of Watergate.