Harvard University's Nieman Foundation for Journalism announced a series of budget cuts yesterday, including suspension of its popular writing conference, in the latest financial setback for the university and another strike to journalism.
Robert H. Giles, the foundation's curator, sent out a notice yesterday saying Nieman will have fewer fellows, institute salary freezes for some employees, scale back its Nieman Reports publication, and suspend its annual Conference on Narrative Journalism and Seminar for Narrative Editors.
The cuts occur as the journalism industry is struggling, particularly newspapers with plunging circulation and advertising revenue. The conference was seen as a valuable resource both for the country's elite and developing journalists.
"People think of the Nieman conference as a celebration of writing, but really it was a deep exploration of reporting," said Anne Hull, a prize-winning reporter with The
"This is the danger of the very thing that's nearing extinction in journalism right now. It's the reporting," she said. "The suspension of the conference is a blow."
Giles said the organization is facing the same economic challenges hurting other organizations, as the Nieman Foundation faces an 8 percent cut in its endowment payout.
Consequently, the upcoming fellowship class will have 24 fellows, compared with 29 last year. In past years, some of the fellowships were funded with grants that have since expired. Also, orientation programs will be shortened, Giles said, and production of Nieman reports will be reduced.
The suspension of the national conference is expected to have a widespread effect. In past years, more than 1,000 journalists and writers, experienced and college-aged, came to the Boston-based gathering to study the best in reporting and narrative writing, a form of journalism storytelling.
Giles said Nieman's devotion to narrative writing will remain through its website features and publications. He also said the foundation will continue to serve as a tool for journalists, not only for newspapers but for new forms of media as well.
"We think we play an important role in moving forward for journalism," he said. "Our focus is journalism, and we're fundamentally optimistic."
Tom French, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter from the St. Petersburg Times who plans to begin teaching at the University of Indiana, said the cuts are the result of the economy and should not be seen as a reflection on journalism or narrative writing. He said the suspension of the conference is a disappointment, but "narrative reporting is going to continue."
Hull, who shared in the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for public service for her work exposing mistreatment of wounded veterans at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, said that the suspension of the conference is the latest setback for the craft, as newspapers have cut back on the number of journalists they train.
About 500 people attended the last conference, many of them book authors, not reporters.
Hull recalled attending the conference several years ago and seeing the excitement of young journalists who braved a snowstorm just for a chance to learn from some of the industry's top writers.
"It was like going to see a Springsteen concert halfway across the country," she said. "Everything is being scaled back right now, and this is just sort of one more elimination of training in our craft."
Milton Valencia can be reached at mvalencia@globe.com. 
