JOUR4601: Trauma-informed journalism: Reporting with empathy and self-care

Trauma is at the heart of news and of the human condition. Trauma refers to “any event to which a person is connected, that is unexpected, outside that person’s usual range of human experience, and that involves some form of loss, injury or threat of injury, whether actual or perceived,” (see Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma). This course will teach students about the ways trauma works in journalism, the media and information, and how it intersects with some of the most important issues of our time including collective grief from the COVID-19 pandemic, race, poverty, social media, sexual violence, and the health care system. Through guest speakers, lectures, readings, discussions and analyzing stories and interviews, students will learn how to minimize and prevent harm when reporting for communities. They will learn about best practices used in the field of journalism for telling stories with a trauma-informed lens that is mindful, ethical, empathetic, and approaches interviewees with dignity. During the course students will also learn how to manage stress and mental health as journalists and identify approaches to stories and conduct interviews that are true to themselves.

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