The Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma released this year “tipsheet” on reporting on children.
As the Dart Center notes, reporting on children can be “among the hardest to frame, research and tell,” and sometimes “turns many traditional journalism rules upside down.” Especially, the Dart Center noted, “reporting intimate partner violence involving young people poses unique ethical, legal and practical challenges.” Other stories journalists may need to interview children for includie “dating violence” and “foster care” reports.
Some tips include:
- Recognizing “what will keep you up at night”
- Acknowledging that “adolescents are not in a position to truly give you informed consent” and you must “protect them”
- “Setting expectations straight”
- Knowing “privacy rights”
- Maintaining “the boundary between journalism and advocacy”
Check out all the tips on the Dart Center’s website.