Story Ideas: Trauma Journalism in the Time of Coronavirus
May 13, 2020 by Rachel Dissell
How can journalists start thinking about aftermath when there is no end in sight?
Children & Youth
Children are not miniature adults, and they deserve special consideration when they end up in the news. Yet few journalists have experience interviewing children for routine stories, let alone when tragedy strikes. What ground rules apply? Is it OK to interview children huddled outside a school after a classmate has opened fire? Should a child be named as a victim of abuse in news coverage?
Here we bring together wisdom, examples and interdisciplinary resources to aid and inform those concerned with how children involved in traumatic events are covered in the media.
Resources on Children & Youth
All Resources
Tip Sheets
- Story Ideas: Trauma Journalism in the Time of Coronavirus
- Working with a Traumatized Child: Creating a Frame and Minimizing Harm
- Tips: Involving Children and Families in Your Reporting
- Tips: Telling Visual Stories
- Talking to Children about the Mass Shooting at Christchurch
- View all Children & Youth Tip Sheets
Multimedia
- Best Practices in Reporting on Refugee Children, Families, and Caregivers
- Trauma-Informed Interviewing: Techniques from a Clinician’s Toolkit
- The Neuroscience of Adversity: Mobilizing a Decade of Scientific Evidence to Help Children in Distress
- Understanding Mental Health in War-Affected Children
- Making Sense of Global Migration Policy: Reporting the Refugee Crisis Through a Human Rights Framework
- View all Children & Youth Multimedia
Publications
Outside Resources
- Questioning Unaccompanied Immigrant Children: Lessons from Developmental Science on Forensic Interviewing
- ECD Database & Resources from Esther Goh
- Video: How Childhood Trauma Affects Health Across a Lifetime
- Article: How Poverty Affects the Brain
- Report: Early Childhood Matters
- View all Children & Youth Outside Resources
Recent Posts
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The Quiet Rooms
An investigation into the violation of a decades-old Illinois law meant to protect students from being physically restrained or locked away in stark rooms as punishment. Judges described “The Quiet Rooms” as “a tour de force of investigative reporting and accountability journalism.” They called it "exhaustive," "fair," and "outstanding from all angles," applauding the “use of testimony from the protagonists in seclusion" and "situating the issue in both a state context and broader national context." Originally published by ProPublica Illinois and the Chicago Tribune between November and December 2019.
Troubled kids, troubled system
April 8, 2020 by Lucy Tompkins, Seaborn Larson, Cameron Evans, Gwen Florio, Tommy Martino, Kathy BestA hard-hitting investigation into residential schools for at-risk children across the state of Montana. Judges commended the “depth of reporting” and “incredible commitment on the part of a small newsroom to revisit a persistent problem concerning the on-going, unrelenting abuse of children despite claims that it had been addressed years earlier." Originally published by the Missoulian between January and November 2019.
How Does the Human Soul Survive Atrocity?
April 8, 2020 by Jennifer Percy, Adam FergusonThis story focuses on psychologist Jan Kizilhan, a German of Kurdish Yazidi origin, and recent graduates of his program in Psychotraumatology at the University of Duhok, Iraq who are working with Yazidi children returning to their families after years in ISIS captivity. Judges called the piece “explanatory reporting at its best,” and praised the “equally matched excellence of the writing and photography.” They noted the “lean narrative style that builds momentum with deft pacing and layering of personal and contextual details,” and the “use of different visual techniques to convey in a metaphorical way the emotional inner turmoil of the children.” Originally published in the New York Times Magazine on October 31, 2019.
- View More Posts On Children & Youth