SFCG’s Radio for Peacebuilding, Africa project Release “Covering Trauma” Guide

This photograph taken in Sudan won the Pulitzer Prize in 1994. It sparked dialogue on the issue of famine but the photographer was also criticized for not helping the girl. The St. Petersburg Times in Florida said this of him: "The man adjusting his lens to take just the right frame of her suffering, might just as well be a predator, another vulture on the scene." (Kevin Carter)

What’s the difference between sensationalism and a story that’s sensational?

Search for Common Ground’s Radio for Peacebuilding, Africa project has just released a new training guide entitled “Covering Trauma.”  The manual was prepared by Jina Moore, an independent multimedia journalist who specializes in Africa and post-conflict and human rights reporting. It aims to give journalists concrete tools for understanding the effects of trauma and for conducting sensitive reporting and writing on trauma stories, whether that trauma has been caused by civil unrest, war, genocide, communal violence, domestic violence, or sexual violence.

The guide covers topics such as the definition of trauma, methods that journalists can use to write effective stories about trauma, and ways that they can help communities heal after trauma.  One of the important points that it makes is that trauma journalism can often become sensationalism. Violence is always dramatic and people are drawn to drama.  The darker side of human nature means that we are all potential voyeurs; good journalists must avoid that inclination and help their readers avoid it as well. Thus it is important that trauma journalism should have a larger purpose than simply recounting the grisly details of violence for curious listeners. For example, journalists should ask themselves if their story illuminates a larger public policy problem or helps people to understand the plight of trauma survivors.

Another important issue for journalists is obtaining consent from possible interviewees. In traditional journalism, getting consent for an interview is straightforward: you ask people if you can talk to them and they either say “yes” or “no”. In trauma journalism, consent often involves more steps. The guide recommends that journalists should immediately identify themselves, respond to any reaction with respect, explain how they will use the interview, confirm how they will identify the survivor, and confirm permission to use sensitive details several days after the interview.  Since trauma happens to people without their permission, it is important that journalists make certain, at every stage of reporting and writing their stories, that survivors are giving their information freely.

A hotly contested debate is currently ongoing on this topic, sparked by a recent article by Mother Jones staff writer, Mac Mclelland in GOOD Magazine about her struggle with PTSD after reporting from Haiti. Mclelland’s PTSD was brought on, in large part, by her interaction with  a rape survivor, called alternatively K* and Sybille. Haitian-American writer, Edwidge Danticat responded to the article questioning whether Mclelland had consent from the rape survivor to tell her story. K* herself contends ‘no’ in a letter shared by Danticat, who was especially upset by Mclelland’s live-tweeting of K*’s traumatic experience.  The debate is a very real example of how important it is to repeatedly assure that a story will not be exploitative.

You have no right to speak of my story.
You have no right to publish my story in the press
Because I did not give you authorization.
You have no right. I did not speak to you.
You have said things you should not have said.
Thank you

–A letter sent by K*’, via her lawyer to Mclelland and Mother Jones

Mclelland’s own sharing of her story was cathartic and helps to shed light on the often unreported effects of reporting from conflict environments and bearing witness to other people’s trauma. Journalism can help communities that have experienced trauma, as the guide shows. And in this case, Mclelland’s sharing may help other reporters who have dealt with similar experiences. What it may not do as well, is help the communities that have so deeply affected Mclelland and of whom she writes.

Often stories about trauma focus on the sadness and pain felt by the survivors rather than offering some hope. There are many kinds of stories, with different kinds of information, that communities who have been through tragedy need; very rarely do people need a retelling of the details of the tragedy itself.

While the details may initially grab the attention of those outside of the affected communities, it may also have the long-term effect of compassion fatigue, especially when conflicts are depicted and intractable and situations hopeless.

Journalists can also facilitate healing in other ways. Call-in shows can allow many people to share their perspective on a tragedy, allowing individuals to feel heard and the community to remember that the recent trauma narrative is not the only story of their home. Dialogue programs can open discussions about the long process of rebuilding and reconciliation, allowing people to imagine together the future of their communities.

More-so than in other reporting, those covering trauma must think not only about their readers but about those whose stories they tell and this acknowledgement is the driving impetus behind “Covering Trauma.”

The manual contains extremely valuable suggestions for journalists working with survivors of violence.  It will be an indispensable resource for practitioners of this field.

The guide is free and available to all who are interested, so download your copy here!

What responsibilities do you think journalists have when covering trauma?