Between the war in Iraq, ongoing terrorism threats, and everyday stories of violence, all reporters should know how to cover traumatic events. The Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma recently added two new sections to its website that are worth visiting.
The most useful one is “Tips & Tools: A Guide for Journalists,” a collection of tip sheets for journalists covering violence, trauma, or mental health issues. Each of the 10 tip sheets includes a few tips and links to Dart Center resources and other sites, on the following topics:
- Interviewing victims and families
- Covering disasters
- Tragic anniversaries
- Children & trauma
- Covering suicide
- Covering murder
- Sexual violence
- Domestic violence
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Self-Care for journalists
The advice includes practical tips, such as suggesting “I’m sorry for your loss” as a conversation-opener with victims and families. Links offer more advice from some of the best in the business: “The worst mistake a reporter can do is to talk too much,” writes Joe Hight and Frank Smyth in their book about covering tragedies. The section will continue to be updated with new tips.
DART has also revamped and expanded its research section, which includes a number of useful articles on how war reporting and other traumatic events affect journalists.
Crisis Journalism Handbook
Another good resource is “Crisis Journalism – A Handbook for Media Response” from The American Press Institute. The downloadable PDF handbook includes advice, checklists, and perspectives on covering difficult stories, touching on everything from ethics to multimedia. This is long but worth printing.
SUBMIT YOUR TIPS FOR PUBLICATION
What websites do you find handy when digging for information? Have you used the Web recently for a story? Send me the website and the story and I may print them. E-mail me at: poynter (at) jondube.com
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