Victims and the Media

Australia, Canada, United States, Related Documents

Australia

Dealing with the Media: Information on the rights of victims/survivors when dealing with the media.

Canada

Victims Guide to Speaking with the Media: A booklet in Adobe Acrobat format, published by Manitoba's Department of Justice.

United States

Covering Crime and Justice: A Guide for Journalists: An online guide for journalists, provided by Criminal Justice Journalists, a non-profit organization whose purpose is to improve the quality and accuracy of news reporting on crime, law enforcement, and the judicial system. This Guide includes a section called Covering Crime and its Victims

Criminal Justice Journalists' News Center: An online information resource for journalists covering this topic, and for those interested in the journalist/criminal justice/victim dynamic.

DART Center for Journalism and Trauma: The Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, at the University of Washington School of Communications, is a resource center and program developer for students, educators, journalists and news organizations interested in the intersection of journalism and trauma issues. The Center recognizes and encourages excellence in reporting on victims of violence and trains journalists on issues of trauma in collaboration with the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies.  Many interesting and useful resources and articles.

Helping Journalists Deal with Trauma: Presented by NewsLab, a resource for television journalists, this page presents a number of links to information, organizations or services which can help journalists experiencing traumatic stress.

The News Media Community: Chapter 13 from the Office for Victims of Crime manual, "New Directions from the Field - Victims Rights and Services in the 21st Century"

The News Media's Coverage of Crime and Victimization:  This section of the National Victim Assistance Academy 2000 textbook  explores how the news media tend to cover crime and victimization, what can be done to help victims effectively deal with this sometimes insensitive coverage, and how victim service providers can work together with members of the media to promote timely, sensitive media coverage.  A videotape version of this information is also available. 

The Trauma of 9-11-01 - What Reporters Can Do To Take Care of Themselves: A short document containing suggestions for journalists dealing with the stress of the terrorist attacks.

Victims and the Media Program:  The Victims and the Media Program at Michigan State University was established to assist journalism students in reporting on victims of violence and catastrophe with the sensitivity, dignity and respect that they deserve.  They also conduct workshops for newspapers, media associations, journalism educators, victim service providers and community groups.