NEW GUIDE OFFERS HELP TO JOURNALISTS COVERING CHILD DEATHS
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - When a child dies how should it be reported? Whether it's by abuse or neglect, preventable accidents, gun violence and drugs or alcohol, insensitive coverage starts a drumbeat that can lead to sensationalism or reactionary media coverage that never seems to end.
"Covering child deaths is perhaps the most emotionally challenging story a journalist will tell in their careers," says Julie Drizin - the director for the Journalism Center on Children and Families at the University of Maryland's Philip Merrill College of Journalism.
It's clear, she says, that there's a need to help reporters do a better job of reporting the tragedy of a child's death that is "ethical, balanced, compassionate and caring." That need has led to the creation of a new tool - a free in-depth interactive training module - called "When a Child Dies" that was created with funding provided by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
The new module is available now on the JCCF website: http://www.journalismcenter.org/
Telling Stories with Sensitivity, Timing and Correctness
The new module uses interviews, examples from top reporters, lessons, tips, sources and more to help reporters deal with such issues as:
* What is the best way to interview a child witness?* What is the best way to interview a grieving family? * What is the best way to craft an obituary?. * How do you judge which images are exploitative?. * How close can/should journalists get to the families they cover?* How does a reporter deal with legal issues reporting juvenile death cases?
The module also provides examples of inadequate and troubling coverage that reporters can learn from. It is designed to be a "living document" that can grow and change with time to become a better resource for reporters.
Colorado Freelance Journalist Susan Greene helped write and develop the new interactive module and says, "I've covered many deaths over the years. Columbine. Aurora. And deaths from gun violence, abuse, neglect, illness and accidents that haven't made national headlines. Along the way, I've learned the importance of sensitivity, timing and a commitment to getting it right. I think reporters who have covered these difficult stories can help other journalists do a better, more thoughtful job. That's what we aim to do in this module."
Future Impact
JCCF Director Drizin says, "High profile stories often lead policy makers to weigh in with new laws and regulations. Sometimes these efforts do protect children, but sometimes they undermine the institutions that work in the best interests of children by promoting stereotypes of corrupt, failed, wasteful, uncaring individuals, leaders and systems." Unfortunately, Drizin says, "Sometimes nothing happens at all."
Media interested in interviews with JCCF Director Julie Drizin or Freelance Reporter Susan Greene should contact Senior Communications Manager David Ottalini at 301-405-1321 or by email to dottalin@umd.edu.
About JCCF
The Journalism Center on Children & Families (JCCF) inspires and recognizes exemplary reporting in children and families, especially the disadvantaged. Since 1993, over 14,000 print, broadcast and online journalists have attended our intensive training programs and relied on us for balanced information and resources. The Center is a nonprofit program of the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, College Park.
About the Annie E. Casey Foundation
The Annie E. Casey Foundation is a private charitable organization, dedicated to helping build better futures for disadvantaged children in the United States. It was established in 1948 by Jim Casey, one of the founders of UPS, and his siblings, who named the Foundation in honor of their mother. The primary mission of the Foundation is to foster public policies, human-service reforms, and community supports that more effectively meet the needs of today's vulnerable children and families. In pursuit of this goal, the Foundation makes grants that help states, cities and neighborhoods fashion more innovative, cost-effective responses to these needs.
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