I’m a Nieman

The official Nieman Fellows announcement came two weeks ago. I was traveling and used my mobile phone to post something on Facebook, then tweeted it the next day. That I’ve not used this blog to post about it had me fretting that I no longer can form posts that run longer than 140 characters. In fact, I’ve barely done even that. I haven’t had time. The fellowship doesn’t start until late August, but I’m already dedicating about half my working time (and most of my waking time) on it, getting the house ready to sell and looking for a place in Cambridge, as well as arranging all the related logistics (what do you mean, Gentle Giant, that I get my estimate by filling out a form listing all my moving requirements? You aren’t going to send someone to do this for me?). I didn’t know about Al and Tipper or Helen Thomas for days following their news.

Meanwhile, all the other members of the 73rd class of Nieman Fellows apparently were too busy to even post on Twitter (in truth, only one other member of my Nieman class, Helen Branswell, appears to be on Twitter).

I thought I would muse about my likely experience, but most of it appears to take place off screen. One of this year’s fellows wrote about her year as a Nieman. Another, Jeff Howe, chronicled how classes get picked at Harvard. 

I’ll try to do better, when the time comes.