Mass shootings challenge the skill, capacity and ethics of news professionals. Below please find tip sheets and other resources for journalists covering these tragedies.
Seamus Kelters, who died suddenly on September 27, 2017, was an influential chronicler of Northern Ireland’s civil conflict and co-author of Lost Lives: The Story of the Men, Women and Children Who Died As A Result of the Northern Ireland Troubles. An early Dart Center Ochberg Fellow, he played a central role in the evolution of trauma-aware journalism. We asked several friends and colleagues for remembrances of Seamus and his work. Below, reflections and recollections by Susan McKay, Scott North, Donna DeCesare, Frank Ochberg, Joe Hight, Elana Newman, Gavin Rees and Bruce Shapiro. Scroll down for excerpts, and click to the right to read the full pieces.
Belgium has raised its threat status to the maximum level after at least 31 people were killed in terrorist attacks across Brussels on Tuesday. On Sunday, at least 69 people were killed and around 300 were wounded in an apparent suicide blast in a park in Lahore, Pakistan. Below are tip sheets and other resources for journalists covering these evolving stories.
France has declared a national state of emergency and closed its borders after more than 100 people were killed in shooting and bombing attacks across Paris on Friday. Below are tip sheets and other resources for journalists covering this evolving story.
An Al-Shabab terrorist attack on a university in Garissa, Kenya, left 148 people dead, including 142 university students.
Nearly every journalist in the course of their career will interview people who have experienced significant trauma. But how many receive any training for the task? This article describes how role-playing traumatic incidents might give student journalists valuable insight and hone crucial interviewing skills.
Recently we have covered the fifth anniversary of the worst atrocity of our Troubles. The relatives of the victims, who have formed their own committee, have said it will be the last memorial service formally convened in the town.