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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Lori Dorfman, DrPH, Berkeley Media Studies Group, 2140 Shattuck Ave. Suite 804, Berkeley, CA 94704, 510-204-9700, dorfman@bmsg.org, Jane Ellen Stevens, Freelance multimedia journalist, 39702 Barry Road, Davis, CA 95616, and Esther Thorson, PhD, School of Journalism, University of Missouri, 116 Walter Williams Blvd., Graduate Studies Center, Columbia, MO 65211.
The Reporting on Violence project began in 1994 to expand the way journalists cover violence. Traditionally, journalists have reported violence as a law enforcement and criminal justice issue. Now that a definitive body of violence epidemiology exists, journalists can expand coverage to include factors that contribute to violence, instead of reporting incidents as random, uncontrollable events. This paper describes how reporters trained in the new methods applied the ideas to covering domestic violence. Methods: Colleagues from public health and journalism produced and distributed a series of handbooks for print, TV, and multimedia reporters illustrating how to include a public health perspective in violence reporting with an accompanying curriculum for journalism educators, and conducted workshops for journalists at leading newspapers. Results: After the Reporting on Violence workshop was held at the San Jose Mercury News, reporter Michelle Guido got permission to cover domestic violence extensively. She produced a series that reported the context of domestic violence, its consequences, risk factors, and resources for prevention and intervention. The series is now being provided as a model for reporting on domestic violence for journalism educators nationally. Implications: Prior to the Reporting on Violence workshop, editors underestimated the level of domestic violence in their community and discounted the interest reporters had in covering it. Once presented with data showing that domestic violence felony assault was the #1 violent crime in San Jose, and that they had not reported on any of them, the editors changed their response and supported in-depth domestic violence coverage.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participants in this session will be able to
Keywords: Domestic Violence, Media
Related Web page: www.bmsg.org
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.