John Harwood stands as a prominent figure in American journalism, currently serving as chief Washington correspondent for CNBC and a political writer for The New York Times. His career is deeply intertwined with the prestigious Nieman Foundation at Harvard, a connection that began even before his own fellowship. His father, Richard Harwood, was a Nieman Fellow in 1956, embedding the program’s values within the family. Young John Harwood grew up surrounded by subtle reminders of this legacy, from a distinctive “VE-RI-TAS” armchair to copies of Nieman Reports arriving in the mail. He even encountered his father’s Harvard lecture notes, glimpses into the academic rigor of the Nieman experience.
However, John Harwood’s most profound “Nieman moment” arrived during his own fellowship year in 1989-90. It centered around a seminar led by Harvard psychologist Jerome Kagan. Shortly after the birth of his first daughter, Harwood enrolled in Kagan’s course on early childhood development, a decision that proved transformative. He was captivated by Kagan’s wisdom and broad intellectual scope.
Over several months, Professor Kagan explored history, philosophy, and neurological science, challenging conventional wisdom on the nature versus nurture debate. Crucially, Kagan imparted a lasting lesson that John Harwood carried into his journalism career: the vital need to consider multiple perspectives when seeking truth. This included examining the context of events, the nature of available evidence (or lack thereof), and the methodology used to gather that evidence. Kagan instilled in him the importance of a deep and comprehensive quest for understanding.
This commitment to nuanced understanding became evident in John Harwood’s reporting, particularly during critical moments. On 9/11, when the attacks crippled The Wall Street Journal’s New York headquarters and news operations shifted to Washington, Harwood contributed to the paper’s coverage of the national psyche in the aftermath of the tragedy. He reached out to Jerome Kagan, whose insights provided invaluable perspective on the long-term and transient psychological impacts of the attacks. The Wall Street Journal’s comprehensive coverage of 9/11, to which John Harwood contributed, was awarded a Pulitzer Prize.
While his Nieman year was filled with enriching experiences, John Harwood reflects that his weekly seminars with Jerome Kagan alone would have made the fellowship invaluable. The intellectual rigor and the emphasis on multi-faceted truth-seeking instilled by Kagan have remained a cornerstone of John Harwood’s distinguished career as a journalist.
