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?
PTSD & Mental Health
First defined by the American Psychiatric Association in 1980, post-traumatic stress disorder — PTSD — is now a widely-recognized diagnosis backed up by decades of science. What do reporters need to know about PTSD, both how it affects those we cover, and the impact of covering trauma on ourselves? What should reporters understand about covering other mental health issues and disorders?
Resources on PTSD & Mental Health
All Resources
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Multimedia
- Trauma-Informed Interviewing: Techniques from a Clinician’s Toolkit
- Let's Talk: Personal Boundaries, Safety & Women in Journalism
- Scar Tissue: 1 Crime. 2 Writers. 18 Years.
- Veterans' Families: The Social Impact of PTSD
- War's Ripple Effects: Research Priorities
- View all PTSD & Mental Health Multimedia
Publications
Outside Resources
- Staring down internet trolls: My disturbing cat and mouse game
- A Veteran's Story
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs - National Center for PTSD
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics
- The Road to Resilience
- View all PTSD & Mental Health Outside Resources
Recent Posts
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Reporting and Covid-19: Tips for Journalists
April 16, 2020 by Susan KaplanTips and tools to report safely and effectively during the coronavirus pandemic, updated regularly following Dart Center webinars.
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.
Case Closed
April 8, 2020 by Rachel Dissell, Andrea Simakis, Lynn Ischay, Ellen Stein Burbach, Kelley Benham French, Melodie Smith, Wendy Carr McManamon, Joel DowneyThis multipart series focuses on rape survivor Sandi Fedor’s efforts to track down the serial rapist who attacked her as she discovers that her trust has been betrayed by the indifference of an historically under-resourced Cleveland Police sex crimes unit. Judges praised the team for “successfully intertwining a visceral survivor’s point of view narrative with traditional investigative reporting.” They said the series “meticulously documents with photographs, video clips, audio recordings, public records, police documents, and prior investigative reporting” a “pattern of systemic police department failure dating back decades” which “enabled serial offenders like the man who attacked Sandi Fedor to evade justice for years.” Originally published in the Plain Dealer on September 29, 2019.
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