The Virginia Tech story is starting to develop, in part, as a story about a depressed and angry person. I urge you to put some context on the issue of depression and not allow your stories to paint people with depression as psychotic killers in waiting.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says:Depression is one of the world's oldest and most common ailments. It can have both physical and psychological symptoms. Millions of Americans are estimated to suffer from depression, a condition so widespread that it has been dubbed "the common cold of mental illness."
Depression is not something that you can snap out of. It can be associated with a chemical imbalance in the brain. Depression is a condition that knows no age boundary. In 2000, 10 percent of college students and 13 percent of college women were diagnosed with depression [PDF] (National Mental Health Association, 2000).
Take a look at the 2005 National College Health Assessment Survey data. Read the Executive Summary here [PDF]. The report says this about college students:
- Depression ranked fourth in top 10 physical and mental problems.
- 37 percent of students have felt so depressed it was difficult to function.
- 51.2 percent of students have felt things were hopeless.
- 6.6 percent of females and 4.1 percent of males have seriously considered suicide.
Among young people, depression is more prevalent than you might think. The National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center reports:
Major depression strikes about one in 12 adolescents. In any given six-month period, about 5 percent of 9- to 17-year-olds are estimated to be suffering from major depression.
Among seniors, depression is a key component to elder suicides. The National Institute of Mental Health says:
Of the nearly 35 million Americans age 65 and older, an estimated 2 million have a depressive illness (major depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder, or bipolar disorder) and another 5 million may have "subsyndromal depression," or depressive symptoms that fall short of meeting full diagnostic criteria for a disorder.
How can you help a person who is depressed? The Counseling Center at the University of Illinois gives this advice:
Since severely depressed individuals can be very withdrawn, lethargic, self-ruminating, and possibly suicidal, a concerned friend can provide a valuable and possibly life-saving service. Talking candidly with the individual regarding your concern for his or her well-being will often bring the problems out into the open.
As you talk with your friend, the American College Health Association advises the following:
- Do not try to "cheer up" the individual.
- Do not criticize or shame, as feelings of depression cannot be helped.
- Do not sympathize and claim that you feel the same way as he or she does.
- Try not to get angry with the depressed individual.
Your primary objective is to let the person know you are concerned and willing to help.
If feelings of depression appear to turn to thoughts of suicide, urge the individual to seek professional help. If the person resists such a suggestion and you feel that suicide is likely -- seek professional help yourself, so you will know how to best handle the situation.
Here are some resources to help journalists:
Guidelines for Bomb-Threat Coverage
College campuses across the country will most likely see an uptick in bomb threats for a while. There have already been several, as you know. It happened after the shootings at Columbine and right after the Oklahoma City bombing.
Here are some guidelines I offer on how to think about your coverage of such things.
Journalists Leading the Va. Tech Story
One way that all journalists can do a better job when we are faced with a story like this is to learn from those who are covering this story. For the next couple of days, I will be interviewing some of the journalists who have led coverage of the Virginia Tech story. Here is an interview I did with David Seidel, assignment editor at WDBJ-TV 7 (Roanoke):
What has surprised you most about your station's coverage of this story?
I was surprised by how far-reaching our coverage went Monday. CNN picked up large portions of our air. Stations in Richmond and D.C. put up large portions of our air. We started hearing from people from all across the country who had some connection to southwest Virginia who saw how we presented what was happening.
What have you learned so far about covering a story like this that the rest of us could benefit from?
Our executive producer, Evan Jones, warned me as I was leaving for a couple hours of sleep Tuesday morning: The second day will be harder than the first. Monday, we just worried about being on the air. What we had was what we had. And at the end of the day we were proud of what we did. Tuesday, we had to start developing stories, the president was here, all while staying in position to be on the air live at a moment's notice. I'm proud of what we did Tuesday. It was just harder.
How important have students/cell phones/blogs/contributed video been to your coverage?
Phone calls kept us on the air Monday through about noon. When we put one student on the air, more started calling. Some of the stories were the same. Some were extraordinary. Those phone calls allowed crews in the field to get new tidbits of information or video. We didn't get as many e-mailed or cell phone photos as I would have expected. The cell service in Blacksburg was bogged down, so I don't know if that had anything to do with it.
How easy is it for outsiders to contribute to your coverage?
We set up a response section on our Web site so viewers, students, etc. can post their comments. We included some of them in our extended coverage each evening. The responses are pouring in.
What protocols, policies, authentication have you gone through before you aired or posted outside content?
We did not put any people on the air who were not on the VT campus. We also got their names before they went on. This was by no means foolproof, but we tried to limit our airtime to only those who had some direct connection, i.e. being on the campus.
I imagine stories like this produce tons of rumors and theories.
The biggest had to be the MySpace Web page created with pictures of a young Asian man with several guns. He was listed as being from northern Virginia. VT students were sending them to us. We never felt comfortable enough to put the name or picture on air. As it turned out, it was a hoax.
How do you keep unproven, unsubstantiated information off your air, considering that you are live for so long?
Our Blacksburg bureau chief was hearing names of potential victims from her friends very quickly. But we were never comfortable enough to go with them without some sort of school, police or family confirmation. There's always a temptation to stretch the coverage and throw out something new, even if it's unconfirmed. We just played it safe.
Tell us what you can about the emotional state of your newsroom.
We're tired. I don't think it's sunk in with a lot of us yet. We've been going non-stop and haven't had time to think about how awful it truly was. This is the second time something like this has happened in Blacksburg within the past year. We learned a lot from the Morva situation in August. But still, I always thought it would never be in my market, my home turf.
What are you doing to help folks?
We have a standing employee-assistance program with the local Family Services chapter. Other departments have stepped up to help the newsroom, answering phones, delivering food. Every little bit helps your peace of mind.
States Ban Gun Confiscations
Stateline.org reports on an interesting trend:
In the days after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans police went door to door and confiscated guns from citizens in an effort to counter chaos and crime in the wrecked city.
But gun advocates saw the seizures as an infringement on constitutional rights and said never again.
The actions of the New Orleans police have inspired 13 states, including Louisiana, to enact laws to keep state and local officials from taking guns during a state of emergency, such as after a natural disaster or terrorist attack. President Bush also signed a bill in October that would penalize states financially for illegally confiscating guns during an emergency.
Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt (R) signed an emergency weapons bill on April 12 to become the 13th state with such a law on the books, joining Alaska, Florida, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. A measure also is on the desk of Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D).
Similar bills were introduced in at least 14 other states this year.
We are always looking for your great ideas. Send Al a few sentences and hot links.
Editor's Note: Al's Morning Meeting is a compendium of ideas, edited story excerpts and other materials from a variety of Web sites, as well as original concepts and analysis. When the information comes directly from another source, it will be attributed and a link will be provided whenever possible. The column is fact-checked, but depends upon the accuracy and integrity of the original sources cited. Errors and inaccuracies found will be corrected.
To day all of a sudden we discover the human...
