Covering Traumatic Events

  • In Depth

    Jul 19 2005

    First the Feelings, then the Facts

    By Steve Gorelick, Ph.D.

    Within a minute of getting the first bulletin about the London terror bombings, I activated all the modern tools that allow anyone to monitor news coverage from the comfort of their living room.

  • Behind the Story

    May 31 2005

    Tomorrow’s Fish-and-Chips Paper

    By Mary Self

    It was going to be a big story, my journalist told me. In fact, it was going to be huge—my story had all the right elements for the ultimate tale of ‘triumph over tragedy’.

  • Behind the Story

    Apr 30 2005

    African Children

    By Jimi Matthews

    It’s always a race. What time is the bird? What have the opposition got? Bodies? How many? How many do you have? No, don't bother. There is no interest. Maybe if you had some bodies. I had some bodies yesterday but there was a train crash in Germany.

  • Behind the Story

    Mar 29 2005

    BTK Killer: Remembering the Victims

    By Joe Hight

    The Wichita Eagle newsroom recently faced a coverage situation that few newspapers encounter: A serial killer resurfacing many years after his last killing.

  • In Depth

    May 23 2004

    Breaking Tragic News

    By Penny Cockerell

    It’s near deadline. A story about a tragic killing comes across my desk and it’s my job to get comments from the family. I make the dreaded call and gently ask for reaction to the news — only to learn that the family doesn’t yet know. What now?

  • Event Transcript

    Tragedy in Focus

    Three acclaimed photojournalists, Peter Howe, Jenny Matthews, and Joseph Rodriguez came together at a special Dart Center and Center for Communication panel discussion on “Photojournalism: Tragedy in Focus” in New York.

  • Behind the Story

    A Question of Faith in the Face of Disaster

    By Emma-Jane Kirby

    Emma-Jane Kirby talks about how reporting on the two earthquakes that hit the small Italian village of San Giuliano di Puglia in 2002 made her question her faith.

  • Behind the Story

    Trying to Wean Myself off War

    By An Anonymous Producer

    I got into Iran on a tourist visa to make a documentary about some human rights issues there. It was a difficult job because we had to set up clandestine interviews with activists, and I knew how risky this could be not just for myself as the filmmaker, but also those who took part in it.

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