Harvard | Harvard Kennedy School
Dear readers, This is my last letter to you as program director and editor-in-chief of The Journalist’s Resource. Here’s the thing: JR depends entirely on philanthropic donations. After several funders did not renew their grants recently, the Shorenstein Center had to make a difficult decision. <p> My position will be eliminated, along with that of our managing editor, <a href="http://click.sc.hks.harvard.edu/?qs=eyJkZWtJZCI6IjYzNmNhMWFhLWE2OGUtNGR… Ordway</a>. She and I will wind down our work here between now and the end of March.</p> <p> <a href="http://click.sc.hks.harvard.edu/?qs=eyJkZWtJZCI6ImVjMTZlZTQ3LWI5NzctNGY… Miller</a>, who led our health care coverage for the past five years, moved on from JR last week to pursue another opportunity. </p> <p> The Journalist’s Resource will continue, at a smaller scale. <a href="http://click.sc.hks.harvard.edu/?qs=eyJkZWtJZCI6IjM0ZGFhZmNhLTY5ZTQtNDh… Merrefield</a>, senior editor of economics and legal systems, will continue to produce evidence-based pieces and webinars for JR. He’ll report to <a href="http://click.sc.hks.harvard.edu/?qs=eyJkZWtJZCI6ImRkYWRmMTZkLWQxMTItNGR… Gibbs</a>, director of the Shorenstein Center and former editor-in-chief of TIME.</p> <p> As for me, I’m grieving the loss of a role I’ve held and loved for nearly eight years. But I leave knowing that The Journalist’s Resource <a href="http://click.sc.hks.harvard.edu/?qs=eyJkZWtJZCI6IjgyNzRkMWQyLTZjMjAtNGE… an impact</a> on local, national and international journalism every day. </p> <p> It would take weeks for me to thank all the people who amplify and illustrate JR’s impact. There are all the reporters who link to our work in their news stories, for example, the brilliant experts who volunteer their time for our well-attended webinars, the bipartisan group of U.S. senators who recently cited one of Denise's tip sheets <a href="http://click.sc.hks.harvard.edu/?qs=eyJkZWtJZCI6Ijg3YTczYjQ3LTdiZjItNDF… a letter to the Department of Education</a>, and so on and so on and so on.</p> And of course I need to thank Thomas Patterson, who founded The Journalist’s Resource more than 15 years ago; Nicco Mele, former director of the Shorenstein Center, who hired me after I introduced myself at a cocktail party and shared how much I admired JR’s work; and Nancy Gibbs, who will lead JR into its next chapter. But I’m most grateful to the small team of research-loving journalists who have worked alongside me for years to help inform news coverage of media, politics, public policy and science, not to mention a major pandemic. I’m going to miss working with them so much. <p> <span><b>Denise-Marie Ordway</b></span></p> <p> Thank you to <a href="http://click.sc.hks.harvard.edu/?qs=eyJkZWtJZCI6IjQzYTg2NzgzLWQ3ZjQtNDY… Ordway</a>, who joined The Journalist’s Resource in 2015 after serving many years as an award-winning newspaper reporter. She <a href="http://click.sc.hks.harvard.edu/?qs=eyJkZWtJZCI6ImYzNGJkMmExLWNlZWQtNGR… nearly 400 pieces</a> for JR — including most of the tip sheets in our “
<a href="http://click.sc.hks.harvard.edu/?qs=eyJkZWtJZCI6ImFiZjFmNTY4LTVmZDUtNDA… Your Research</a>” section, helping journalists avoid missteps when reporting on academic studies and opinion polls. </p> Denise completed several graduate courses in advanced statistics and research methods at Harvard University, deepening her understanding of academic research just so she could explain it more clearly to all of you. If you’ve ever been in the audience while Denise is delivering a conference presentation, you know her enthusiasm for research is contagious. And if you’ve read her work, you know that she’s an excellent writer who understands the needs of her audience. Denise’s tip sheets are special in that they don’t just tell readers what they need to know about research, but why they need to know it. (I’ve lost count of how many times Denise told me, “I wish this tip sheet had existed when I was in the newsroom.”) <p> Here are a few of my favorite Denise pieces: </p><p>
<b>Naseem Miller</b></p> <p> Thank you to <a href="http://click.sc.hks.harvard.edu/?qs=eyJkZWtJZCI6IjM1ZWU4YWFjLThmOTEtNDg… Miller</a>, a wise, talented, empathetic health journalist and communicator. She joined the JR team in January 2021, not a moment too soon, after an exhaustive search for the ideal person to lead our health coverage amid the COVID-19 pandemic. </p> <p> Naseem also helped to guide news coverage and consideration of increasingly pressing issues such as:</p><p><b>Clark Merrefield</b></p> <p> Thank you to <a href="http://click.sc.hks.harvard.edu/?qs=eyJkZWtJZCI6ImZmNTlmYjg5LTM4MTMtNGJ… Merrefield</a>, who joined the team in 2019. Clark is a brilliant writer who excels in bringing wonky research to life, transforming dry topics into compelling explainers that help his readers make sense of what’s going on with the economy.</p> (My mom, a retired hospice nurse, has told me often that she didn’t quite understand why she needed to care about [insert topic here] until she read Clark’s explainer on that topic.) <p> My favorite Clark pieces are the ones that help journalists hold local officials accountable for their policy proposals, examining the likelihood that those proposals will work. For example:</p>And I’m grateful to all of you who read this newsletter, and all of you who rely on <a href="http://click.sc.hks.harvard.edu/?qs=eyJkZWtJZCI6ImNjZDk0NmEyLWIwZDYtNGZ… Journalist’s Resource</a> to inform the news. Wherever I land next, I’m committed to strengthening journalism. Please stay safe and well, readers. I remain … Yours in knowledge, <p> <b>Carmen Nobel</b></p>