Being Sensitive

One of SPJ’s guidelines says to “show compassion for those who may be affected adversely by news coverage.” In the case of crime reporting, I find this especially true.

We as reporters need to understand the sensitivity when reporting on crimes, court trials, disasters and other events that tremendously affect people’s lives.

Going over this chapter starts to help us prepare for this kind of reporting, and I think it was a good idea to go over it, before we actually go out there and cover these kinds of events.

But on the other hand, it is kind of basic stuff. Most of crime stories so rely heavily upon police reports… but as a reporter you should also know enough to interview others involved, such as witnesses and victims. It may be difficult to interview the victims, and I don’t know if practicing this task will make it any easier in tough situations, but I guess that’s the risk we take as journalists.

Overall, the most important thing is to be sensitive… and I can’t forget according to the author, the most important thing is to be accurate. Gather the facts who, what, when, where, why, how and write in the inverted pyramid style.