Good intentions and respect are wonderful, but not always enough.
When it comes to tragic events in the news, the public has a right
to know. But journalists must also strive to preserve the dignity and
privacy of those who are in the news only because circumstances have
thrust them into the spotlight.
Realistically, the news media must be involved when events are so
outside of the norm that the public becomes aware of them, or when
there is celebrity or notoriety involved.
When journalists are called upon to interact
with grieving people at the
scene of a tragedy, they wield inordinate power. They can either help or
hurt, and often do both. The
things journalists say and do can be of
support and comfort, or they can inadvertently add immeasurable pain
to an already diabolical situation.
Journalists, along with law enforcement and emergency personnel, find
themselves staring into the painful underbelly of life on a regular basis.
The key to effective interviews in these situations is knowing what to
say and what not to say to grieving people. That's not a course that is
taught in journalism school, nor any other school for that matter.
As authors and lecturers, we have done
several thousand interviews,
primarily radio, as well as print and television. While we are not members
of the collective media, we are adjunct. We feel a kindredship with the
Fourth Estate.
We take the responsibility of disseminating correct information on our
topic very seriously. What we communicate, as experts in our field, can
affect many people's lives.
In order to help our colleagues in the media, we have written a booklet
called
A Guide For Journalists. Its official title is:
How To Conduct Compassionate Interviews At The Scene Of A Tragedy
& Dealing With Our Own Responses To What We See And Hear.
[We always like those short, snappy titles.]
We have also created a "Cliff Note's" version which distills the essentials
into a DOs and DON'Ts tri-fold brochure for quick reference.
In keeping with our philosophy of helping the largest number of grieving people
in the shortest period of time, we are making The Guide available at no cost to
all journalists.
Please see the information below the line to get your free copy.
Oh, and thank you, for doing the job you do.
A Guide For Journalists - By Russell Friedman & John W. James
The Guide is split into two sections. The first section helps reporters with
things to say and not say when they find themselves "on scene" in the
aftermath of some kind of tragedy. It also explodes some of the incorrect
myths and clichés that cloud the issue of
grief and people's reaction to loss.
The second section is designed to help supervisors and colleagues
debrief each other in the face of their constant exposure to the painful
underbelly of life.
The short DOs and DON'Ts
brochure will help you remember the kinds of
things that would enhance an interview, but at the same time not damage
the interviewee.
Because the goal of our organization is to
help as many grieving people
as fast as we can, we are making a downloadable PDF version of the
Guide and the Brochure available at NO COST to any journalist or news
organization.
Click Here for immediate access to the complimentary download.
Also: A hard-copy version of The Guide in the form of a 32-page
booklet, which fits easily into a coat pocket or a purse, along with the
DOs and DON'Ts brochure is available for the shipping/handling fee of $2.95.
Click Here to order the hard-copy version.
By Russell Friedman
John W. James and Russell Friedman are co-founders of The Grief Recovery Institute Educational Foundation, and co-authors of The Grief Recovery Handbook and When Children Grieve, both from HarperCollins. The Institute and thousands of affiliates throughout the United States and Canada offer a variety of programs for grievers. Additional information is available by calling 888-773-2683 or on the web at www.grief.net . To view previous media related articles please go to www.grief.net/Media/MediaIndex.html . Eric Cline is Director of Canadian Operations.