:: LNR Journalism ::

How to get traumatized sources to share their stories

Poynter :: When people have been traumatized, they’re often reluctant to talk to the media. There are ways of getting them to open up, though, and of showing them the value in sharing their story. I talked with five journalists who have interviewed sexual assault victims, people with mental illnesses and parents who have lost children. Here are 10 tips from them.

A guide by Mallary Jean Tenore, www.poynter.org

RFE/RL: Yuri Bandazheuski's how-to guide for survival in captivity

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty :: Yuri Bandazheuski criticized official reporting on the Chernobyl disaster and radiation levels in Belarus and soon found himself inside a Belarusian prison as an internationally recognized prisoner of conscience. But Bandazheuski, a doctor who also serves as a Radio Svaboda commentator, used his time behind bars to publish a how-to guide for survival in captivity.

[Yuri Badazheuski:] I saw how my own body and that of others reacted; I saw what enormous stress prisoners have to endure.

A report by www.rferl.org

RFE/RL on Twitter

Newsgathering remote: Syria reporters struggle to bear witness

Huffington Post :: For 17 months, President Bashar al-Assad's regime has severely restricted press access in the country as his soldiers first brutally cracked down on peaceful protests and now battle opposition forces in a war that has claimed more than 19,000 lives.

[Michael Calderone:] When it comes to covering Syria, the fog of war is especially thick.

A report by Michael Calderone, www.huffingtonpost.com

#Aurora: James Holmes' prosecutors say notebook story can't be trusted

The Atlantic Wire :: That story about the notebook James Holmes supposedly mailed to a psychiatrist, outlining his plans to shoot up the movie theater was a hell of a scoop for Fox News, but now Aurora prosecutors are saying in a court filing that it was probably all a big hoax.

A report by Adam Martin, www.theatlanticwire.com

The prosecution's motion, uploaded by Matthew Keys, Reuters, to scribd.com

Denver TV stations pool interviews with theater shooting victims, families

Poynter :: Kevin Torres is a multimedia journalist for KUSA-TV, the NBC station in Denver. Usually he shoots, writes and edits his own stories. On Tuesday, the key interview in his story was shot by the ABC station in town. On Wednesday, the Fox affiliate shot the interview for his story.

What began as a routine way for Denver stations to share the most mundane coverage of everyday press conferences and staged events has turned into a way for victims of last week’s theater shooting, and their families, to do one TV interview rather than dozens.

A report by Al Tompkins, www.poynter.org

China: Guangdong Mobile sends 30m warning text messages for typhoon Vicente

Tech In Asia :: As China’s southeast deals with the aftermath of tropical storm/typhoon Vicente, Guangdong Mobile (the local division of China Mobile) has revealed that it sent 30 million warning texts about the storm to subscribers in five cities, in cooperation with the provincial government.

Clipped from: tech.sina.com.cn (share this clip). As Chrome user you can use a Google Translate extension to translate the Chinese text on the fly.

A report by C. Custer, www.techinasia.com

China: Guangdong Mobile sends 30m warning text messages for typhoon Vicente

Tech In Asia :: As China’s southeast deals with the aftermath of tropical storm/typhoon Vicente, Guangdong Mobile (the local division of China Mobile) has revealed that it sent 30 million warning texts about the storm to subscribers in five cities, in cooperation with the provincial government.

Clipped from: tech.sina.com.cn (share this clip). As Chrome user you can use a Google Translate extension to translate the Chinese text on the fly.

A report by C. Custer, www.techinasia.com

Beijing's disastrous rainstorm: SMS warning system impossible?

Tech In Asia :: Last Saturday, Beijing experienced the heaviest rains the city has seen in more than sixty years. The results were devastating: 37 deaths and $1.5 billion in flooding damage. What’s more, there’s the possibility that both of those numbers will rise when the devastation in rural Fangshan district, the hardest-hit area, is more thoroughly assessed.

So why didn’t the Meteorological Bureau send out text warnings to Beijingers beforehand?

It seems like texts would be a remarkably effective method of issuing a warning given that more than 95 percent of Beijingers own mobile phones and people are more likely to check text messages than they are to turn on the radio, watch TV, or look up weather on the web during any given day.

A report by C. Custer, www.techinasia.com

Aurora Shooting: Networks devoted wall-to-wall coverage, omnipresence of social media

Huffington Post:: News of the horrific movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado caused all three network morning shows to toss out their plans and switch to breaking news mode, and sent a flood of reporters from across the media to the Denver suburb where the events took place.

[Jack Mirkinson:] On "Good Morning America," hosts reflected on the omnipresence of social media in their coverage. "You can't escape it," guest host Amy Robach said.

A report by Jack Mirkinson, www.huffingtonpost.com

Theater-shooting reports by ABC, social media premature, inaccurate

Denver Post :: [Aurora theater shooting] Network news teams scrambled to report from Denver. The evening newscasts, "Today," "48 Hours," "Dateline," Anderson Cooper and others immediately mobilized to be on the scene Friday evening. E-mail, Twitter and Facebook played an increased role, as victims bypassed traditional media to tell their own stories. Broadcasters at times read the latest information off the Internet.

[Joanne Ostrow:] Kyle Clark of 9News was among the best at explaining the ground rules of TV coverage to viewers. "This is not a foot race," he said.

(Social) media reporting of the Aurora theater shooting - A report by Joanne Ostrow, www.denverpost.com