{"id":11246,"date":"2024-04-25T12:00:04","date_gmt":"2024-04-25T12:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2024\/04\/25\/2024-power-of-narrative-be-human-first-when-covering-trauma-and-children\/"},"modified":"2024-10-18T14:34:45","modified_gmt":"2024-10-18T14:34:45","slug":"2024-power-of-narrative-be-human-first-when-covering-trauma-and-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2024\/04\/25\/2024-power-of-narrative-be-human-first-when-covering-trauma-and-children\/","title":{"rendered":"2024 Power of Narrative: &#8220;Be human first&#8221; when covering trauma and children"},"content":{"rendered":"    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p><em>EDITOR\u2019S NOTE: This is the fourth dispatch from the 2024 Power of Narrative conference at Boston University. For previous posts,<\/em>&nbsp;<em>see&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/stories\/nonfiction-narrative-deadline-podcasts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">deadline narratives<\/a>&nbsp;by a Wall Street Journal podcast team, the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/stories\/2024-power-of-narrative-story-structure-nonfiction-atavist-seyward-darby\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">braided structure<\/a>&nbsp;used by The Atavist for complex stories and practical tips on&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/stories\/2024-power-of-narrative-boston-university-empathy-listening-interviewing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">empathy as a reporting tool<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">The approach that guides the journalism of Washington Post reporter\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.johnwoodrowcox.com\/about\">John Woodrow Cox<\/a>\u00a0might be distilled into three words: \u201cBe human first.\u201d<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>Cox is the author of the book \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.harpercollins.com\/products\/children-under-fire-john-woodrow-cox?variant=39502302904354\">Children Under Fire: An American Crisis<\/a>,\u201d which draws from his years of enterprise reporting on how children are impacted by gun violence, mass shootings and school shootings. Speaking at the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/combeyond.bu.edu\/offering\/the-power-of-narrative-conference\/schedule\/\">2024 Power of Narrative Conference<\/a>&nbsp;at Boston University, Cox offered tips for telling stories&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/stories\/challenging-the-stereotype-of-uvaldes-plucky-child-survivor\/\">through the eyes of children<\/a>. But his advice isn\u2019t apt only for coverage of the most extreme trauma-based stories. It applies more broadly to reporters like me who write about rare diseases and contested illnesses, where patients and their families experience trauma that is less obvious and takes more time to understand and explain.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-image mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"450\" height=\"459\" src=\"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-04-24-at-5.39.35\u202fPM-e1714006648815-1.png\" alt=\"Washington Post reporter John Woodrow Cox and the 2024 Power of Narrative conference at Boston University\" class=\"wp-image-11250\" style=\"width:250px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-04-24-at-5.39.35\u202fPM-e1714006648815-1.png 450w, https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-04-24-at-5.39.35\u202fPM-e1714006648815-1-294x300.png 294w, https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-04-24-at-5.39.35\u202fPM-e1714006648815-1-40x40.png 40w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">John Woodrow Cox <small>Matthew Eadie<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>Here are highlights of his process, lightly edited from his words:<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-list mb-4 list max-w-screen-full mx-auto pl-5 \">\n            \n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Be human first<\/strong>. That is where it begins. The first thing I say to anybody is \u2018I\u2019m very sorry for what it is you\u2019ve gone through.\u2019 If that is not your first instinct, you should quit doing this work.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Pre-report<\/strong>. Talk to everybody in their life first \u2014 all the adults, mostly so you understand if they have triggers, if there are things you shouldn\u2019t talk about. You need to understand that as completely as possible before you walk in and ask them anything.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-list mb-4 list max-w-screen-full mx-auto pl-5 \">\n            \n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/stories\/immersing-into-the-lives-of-children-damaged-by-gun-violence-and-laws-that-dont-stop-it\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Always go, and always stay<\/strong><\/a>. Just show up. We cannot tell these stories from afar. We have to be there \u2014 and stay. The difference in the way a child interacts with you on the first day versus the second is enormous. They respond to consistency. Just being there, being a familiar face, for more than a day \u2014 they open up in a really different way.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Be transparent<\/strong>. I explain in great detail what it is that I do. I will show them on my phone, scroll through stories, and I\u2019m very transparent about how the process works. What we do is so opaque to people. We think they understand it. They don\u2019t. It\u2019s very unusual to anybody who doesn\u2019t do this work. So I try to be really clear about my process.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Give agency<\/strong>. Especially when talking with children, the thing I say all the time is \u2018I\u2019m not in charge. You can say \u2018no\u2019 to anything I ask you. There is no obligation.\u2019 Children are so used to every adult in their life being an authority figure. So I say those words: \u2018I\u2019m not in charge. You\u2019re in charge.\u2019<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Make them comfortable<\/strong>. I always ask kids where they want to talk. I ask parents to be present. I ask parents not to answer for their kids. I also sit on the floor. I want their eye level to be above mine. I want to signal to them all the time that they\u2019re in charge, and I\u2019m not.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>When possible, immerse<\/strong>. If you ask a kid \u2018How do you feel?\u2019 \u2014 no matter what, their response will be \u2018I\u2019m OK\u2019 or \u2018Fine.\u2019 The question I ask kids most often is \u2018What happened next?\u2019 By existing in their space \u2014 and this is true with adults, too \u2014 you\u2019re going to learn so much more.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Verify<\/strong>. You can\u2019t rely entirely on a child\u2019s memory to tell the story. Anything they tell you, you have to seek corroboration.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Record everything<\/strong>. I have two recorders, always. Children speak in a really unique, unusual way. You have to get their dialogue exactly, because your ear will literally edit in real time. I know this because I\u2019ve taken notes and I\u2019ve recorded and they don\u2019t match up. So right now I record everything.    <div class=\"\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-list mb-4 list max-w-screen-full mx-auto pl-5 \">\n            \n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Great tip: Get an Apple Watch and just turn it on to record. Then you don\u2019t need to hold two recorders.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Find out what questions they\u2019ve been asking<\/strong>. (to get at a child\u2019s anxiety or fears\u2026expressed in their journal, or to a parent or teacher etc.) Quick example: In a story about a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/sf\/local\/2017\/04\/20\/tyshaun\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">boy whose father was shot to death<\/a>, I asked the boy\u2019ss mom to tell me what he would ask her:<br>&#8211; \u201c<em>Did my daddy do something to deserve this?<\/em>\u201d<br>&#8211; \u201c<em>Did they catch the person?<\/em>\u201d<br>&#8211; \u201c<em>Is this person going to try to come and get me?<\/em>\u201d<br>Tyshaun would have never expressed to me that \u2018oh I\u2019m having a lot of fear about the person who didn\u2019t get arrested who shot my dad\u2019 or \u2018I wonder if my dad did something to deserve this\u2019 or \u2018I wonder if this person\u2019s going to come and get me.\u2019 He wouldn\u2019t have just volunteered that. But his questions to his mother revealed his anxiety. It\u2019s a question that I ask literally every time when reporting (through the eyes of children): What questions have they been asking?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Leave them in a good place<\/strong>. This is a tip I picked up at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.jtsn.org\/dart-center\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dart, the center on journalism and trauma<\/a>. We take people into dark places in the course of reporting. We cannot leave them there. We have to bring them back out. You yourself, while doing this reporting, are going into a dark place. Sometimes it\u2019s hard to think, how can I lighten this? How can I bring them back out of this? I write questions at the back of my notebook\u2026 things I know I can rely on when I want to bring them back out. For example, something they have to look forward to\u2026\u00a0<em>What are you going to do this summer? What are you doing for Christmas? What\u2019s on your wish list?<\/em>\u00a0Things that will put their brain emotionally in a better place.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Never underestimate<\/strong>. There are things we assume a child isn\u2019t capable of thinking or doing. They have so much more to offer. And the truth is, kids can be a little bit of a Trojan Horse for tough issues. People find ways to blame:\u00a0<em>Oh, that must be this person\u2019s fault.<\/em>\u00a0You can\u2019t blame a 6-year-old. And there are a lot of other issues we can take on and find different ways to engage people if we told them through a different subject.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>A closing thought from Woodrow Cox. How we tell stories through children\u2019s eyes goes back to what I said at the start. Seek to understand their perspective, their loss, their fears, their interests, their aspirations \u2014 because they have all of those things. And too often we assume that they don\u2019t. And that\u2019s what it means to report with empathy.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>To me, that is where our work begins and where it ends.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>* * *<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p><em><strong>Esther Landhuis<\/strong>&nbsp;is a freelance science and health journalist based in California.<\/em><\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From pool drownings to school shootings, John Woodrow Cox shares lessons on reporting violence through the voices of children (and others)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11249,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"topics":[],"authors":[391],"issue":[],"class_list":["post-11246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-essays-on-craft","authors-esther-landhuis"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>2024 Power of Narrative: &quot;Be human first&quot; 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