A longtime newspaper publisher and editor with a steadfast commitment to independence and accuracy, Lucius Nieman laid the groundwork for what became the state’s largest and most prominent newspaper, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
A Wisconsin native, Nieman got his start in newspapers in 1869 at age 12, as a printers’ devil for The Waukesha Freeman. Two years later, he started in the composing room of The Milwaukee Sentinel and worked his way up to managing editor at age 21 before leaving to start his own newspaper.
He purchased The Daily Journal — later known as The Milwaukee Journal — in1882, just three weeks after it was started as a political campaign sheet. He served as publisher until 1919 and continued on as editor until his death in1935. Under his leadership, The Journal was fiercely independent, free of political influence, and stood squarely on the side of the people. In 1919, these efforts earned the newspaper the first of eight Pulitzer Prizes.
Nieman’s legacy continues today through the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard, founded in 1938 through a $1.4 million donation by his widow, Agnes Wahl Nieman. The Foundation aims to “promote and elevate the standards of journalism in the United States and educate persons deemed specially qualified for journalism.” It also publishes Nieman Reports, a quarterly journal on journalism issues, and houses the Nieman Journalism Lab, an effort to investigate future models that could support quality journalism.
