Content warning: The following column contains content about suicide.
Covering sensitive topics is one of the most difficult yet most important parts of being a journalist. When publications, especially those specific to a campus or community, do not report on certain events because they are difficult to cover, it is doing a disservice to its readers. Misinformation spreads, false narratives take hold and oftentimes the situation is made much worse — and even more traumatic — when journalists stay silent.
However, with the responsibility of covering difficult topics innately comes the responsibility of doing it the right way. To properly report on a tragedy, it is important journalists have those personally affected by a situation in mind throughout the entire reporting process and provide resources for those affected by such issues. Journalists must also find balance in the details they choose to include, and in the context of crimes, should not include information that may glamorize the perpetrator.
We have done our best as a publication to cover the breaking news of an OU student found unresponsive last Wednesday night and early Thursday morning delicately while also keeping the campus informed. The university is going through a mourning process. This includes our newsroom; we are students as well as journalists and are navigating the situation in both contexts.
The past week has been difficult for the entire campus, including The Post’s staff. We have done our best as a publication to cover what happened delicately while also keeping the campus informed and negating the spread of misinformation.
Reporting on mass casualty events and other crimes is complicated as well. A journalist must provide enough context, and again, balance empathy with toughness. It is important to understand who committed the crime and why, but the focus should be on the survivors and their testimonies. When the focus of the story shifts too heavily to the perpetrator instead of the survivors, the publication runs the risk of glorifying the perpetrator instead of showing the resiliency of the survivors and raising awareness about what someone goes through when surviving a mass casualty event or other crime.
When reporting on topics such as domestic violence or sexual assault, it is pertinent a publication includes resources for those who may be actively in these situations. Reporting on interpersonal violence is important in empowering those who have survived acts of assault to come forward. It requires sensitivity as well as toughness, a balance between empathy and facts, and the ability to understand that some questions will be too much for a survivor to answer.
One of the greatest truths of life is that it has an endless capacity for tragedy and heaviness. Everyone’s lives are touched by this and we are interconnected as a species. Any life taken is a great loss and should be treated as such. In these situations, the goal of the press should always be to uphold testimonies of the resiliency of the human race and spread awareness of the human condition.
If you or someone you know is experiencing mental health concerns, call or text 988 for support or contact the NAMI helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264). Find OU’s mental health resources through Counseling and Psychological Services.
