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Nieman Notes
—1975—
John Maclean’s book, “Fire on the
Mountain: The True Story of the South
Canyon Fire” (Washington Square
Press, 2000), was the basis for a twohour
documentary by the same name
that aired in October on The History
Channel. The book and the documentary
follow the footsteps of the 14 smoke
jumpers who died in the 1994 Storm
King Mountain fire in Colorado. Upon
hearing that the official review of the
tragedy determined that the firefighters
were responsible for their own deaths,
Maclean left his job to investigate the
story and write his book.
—1981—
Peter Almond writes, “… Both Anna
and I would like to say how sorry we
were to hear of the death of Jim
Thomson. Jim was always helpful to us
and interested in my slightly curious
status as an American Nieman (from
Cleveland) who never quite gave up
being British.…
“… with still another nine years to
official retirement … the world of
freelance writing continues to be highly
recommendable. I have been away from
the Daily Telegraph for over seven years
and don’t miss the daily grind of commuting
across the increasingly fraught
transportation of London to the
Docklands one bit.
“Working for myself means I’ve been
able to spread my wings, both beyond
the relatively narrow world of defense
and these shores. You might find some
odd story showing up under my byline
in various U.S. papers such as the Chicago
Tribune or via UPI. However, I’ve
maintained my defense specialization
and continue to write occasionally for
both the Daily and Sunday Telegraphs,
plus a number of other national papers
and magazines. And I still chair the
U.K. Defence Correspondents Association,
my contribution in a continuing
battle to maintain defense as a specialization
in the national media, particularly
when there isn’t a war on (I know—
when isn’t there a war on?). It is
surprising how many journalists don’t
know one end of a smart bomb from
the other.
“And I now have a second book
coming out in November, ready for the
100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers’
first flight. Four hundred pages,
mostly from the Hulton Getty picture
archive, but all shaped and written by
me. In WH Smith in the U.K. it’s called
‘Century of Flight,’ and in Barnes &
Nobel in the United States it’s called
‘The Story of Flight.’ There is a French
edition, and it is currently being translated
into Spanish, Italian and maybe
other languages. It follows my first
book with the Getty archive, ‘Aviation:
The Early Years,’ published in 1997 by
Konemann of Germany.”
—1983—
Callie Crossley was selected as a
2002 Tribute to Outstanding Women
Awardee by the board of directors of
the YWCA of Cambridge, Massachusetts.
She and eleven other women
were given the award this year to recognize
their exemplary work and service
in the Cambridge community.
Crossley has now joined the Nieman
Foundation staff as program manager,
working with the Curator and the
Nieman class in selecting and scheduling
speakers and topics for seminars,
shop talks, workshops, Nieman diners,
and other events.
—1986—
Geneva Overholser has undertaken
a new project, a Weblog column called
“Journalism Junction” posted on the
Poynter Institute’s Web site. The column,
Overholser writes, “is a Weblog
about connections: connections between
the business and the craft of
journalism. Between the practice of
journalism and the journalism academy.
Connections among the people
and organizations thinking and talking
and working on the challenges journalism
faces today. It will include articles
and speeches and conference
reports and research references, and it
will be updated weekly (at a minimum).”
Begun in November, it can be
found at www.poynteronline.org/
column.asp?id=54.
—1989—
Rick Tulsky won Hofstra
University’s Wood Award for Courage
in Journalism this year for his series,
“Uncertain Refuge,” published in the
San Jose Mercury News in 2000. Tulsky
spent two years investigating the way
people seeking asylum are dealt with
by the U.S. judicial system (see his
article on page 5), and reported on the
pitfalls, inequities and suffering many
of them experience.
To fund his project, Tulsky received
a grant from the Alicia Patterson Foundation,
continuing to work even after
the money ran out. Being hired by the
Mercury News in 2000 allowed him to
complete the project.
The Wood award is named after deceased
journalist and Newsday ombudsman
Francis Frost Wood and is
given by Hofstra University in
Hempstead, New York, to a journalist
“judged to best exemplify physical or
moral courage in the practice of his or
her craft.” Tulsky was a 2001 Pulitzer
Prize finalist and won several other
awards for “Uncertain Refuge,” including
the 2001 Robert F. Kennedy Journalism
Award—his second.
—1991—
Kabral Blay-Amihere published an
autobiography in August 2001 entitled
“Fighting for Freedom: The Autobiography
of an African Journalist” (Trans
Afrika News Ltd., Accra). In his introduction,
Blay-Amihere writes, “Biographies
… enable readers to appreciate
what really motivates people to do the
kind of things they do or say. In journalistic
parlance they provide the news
behind the news, the real story and
Nieman Fellows who would
like to have an item appear in
Nieman Notes—a job change,
the publication of a book, an
unusual adventure—
please e-mail the information
to Lois Fiore at
lfiore@harvard.edu.
114 Nieman Reports / Winter 2002