Dear friends,
It’s a challenging time to be a journalist, both economically and politically. When I started in my new role as editor of Nieman Storyboard a few months ago, I knew that I wanted to talk to working journalists about how they are doing their jobs in 2025.
I wanted to dive into the craft of journalism and storytelling, but through honest conversations about what the industry can actually support. For reporters, writers, producers, and filmmakers, there’s so much that is out of our control, I wanted to understand the parts of the work that we can control.
Given how much noise there is in digital media, I also wanted to create a podcast as a way to slow things down. Hearing people in their own words, with their own voices, is a great way to create human connection in a disconnected world.
With that in mind, I’m excited to share the new Nieman Storyboard podcast, where we’ll have in-depth conversations about the craft of storytelling, in all its many forms.
My first guest is journalist and author Erika Hayasaki. We talked about her process for finding stories, her lessons from trauma-informed reporting, and the value of weaving personal experience into reported pieces.
You can get the full show notes here, and read more about how it came together. And for more from Erika, go subscribe to her newsletter, The Reported Essay.
This podcast was one of the central ideas I pitched when I applied for the Nieman Storyboard role. My rule is that I want to have at least five episodes recorded before launching any show, and those came together relatively quickly. To quote one of my upcoming guests, Pulitzer Prize winner Mary Schmich, “deadlines crowd out doubt.”
I was fortunate to have support and encouragement from my colleagues at the Nieman Foundation (shout-out to Adriana Lacy for the cover art), as well as two contributors who also help produce our Ursa shows, editor Kelly Araja and producer Marina Leigh.
Our primary audience is other journalists and storytellers, but I think these conversations are important for everyone to hear as well. We all need to understand why journalism matters, and how it works. Transparency is a big part of media literacy.
Thanks for listening.
Other news of note
Over at Ursa Story Company, we’re nearing the end of Ursa Short Fiction Season Three, which included more wonderful conversations from Dawnie Walton and Deesha Philyaw about finding the right agent and making sense of the publishing business — and some of my favorite audio stories we’ve ever produced: “Bitch Baby,” by Halle Hill; “Snow Bath Season,” by Stacie Denetsosie; and “Telling Stories,” by T.E. Wilderson. A mix of humor, heartbreak, and phenomenal storytelling and performances.
We are seeking potential distribution partners and sponsors for future seasons of both Ursa Short Fiction and Reckon True Stories. (And maybe even a special live event!)
If you’d like to get involved, drop me a note by May 1: mark@ursastory.com
I hope you are all doing okay in this time of uncertainty,
-Mark