Most of us, early on, get trained to cover difficult things. But most of us aren’t prepared for what it means to cover people who’ve faced serious trauma in a way that doesn’t contribute to their trauma. 

“It’s important to understand that it’s not quite as simple as interviewing someone,” said my colleague, Kerwin Speight, who leads our project on covering mental health. “Journalists must consider that the source could have gone through a dramatic event, might not be able to speak for themselves because of their illness or condition, or they might be at risk for telling their story. It takes a bit more nuance when engaging people in this work.”

Part of that nuance means understanding what makes a source vulnerable in the first place. 

“A vulnerable source is someone who has much less power than a journalist,” said my colleague, Fernanda Camarena, who teaches about vulnerable sources and runs our program on covering child welfare. “Either because of their economic, legal or religious status, their ethnicity, race, identity, age, someone who has gone through a dramatic event or has suffered an injustice. It is someone for whom the risk of telling their story is greater than the advantage. Someone who lacks the knowledge on how to navigate a journalist's questions or the reporting process.”

Poynter’s Mental Health Reporting Project includes a lesson on trauma-informed reporting. In that lesson, created by journalist Mary Hall, Hall says this:

“Working with vulnerable sources requires us as journalists to set aside preconceived notions, pressing deadlines and ego. Accept you will likely be uncomfortable and almost certainly humbled. When someone shares the deepest parts of themselves, often with social or legal risk, it’s an immeasurable gift. It deserves preparation, intentionality, time, grace and uncompromising kindness. It is work, but it’s also when you discover the most moving, authentic and truthful stories.” 

Next week, on May 20, Speight is leading a free webinar on covering vulnerable sources, along with Camarena and KFF Health News senior correspondent Aneri Pattani. 

“In this webinar, participants will learn how to approach reporting on vulnerable populations,” Speight said. “We’ll explore best practices and provide Poynter’s toolkit for working with vulnerable sources.”

You can sign up here.

While you’re here:

• From LION, read “The Florida publisher earning nearly $100k/year from readers.”

• Read about CherryRoad Media and the man “racing to prove that small-town newspapers can survive — while the industry battles Big Tech’s growing control.”

• The deadline has been extended to apply for the Chips Quinn Reporter Fellowship. Its goal is “helping early-career journalists develop what are known as “power skills.” These include areas like communication, leadership, collaboration, personal development and productivity — all skills that help a journalist thrive.”

• And because it was a great read, from The New York Times, read about the correspondent for The Baltimore’s Afro-American newspaper who wrote a Paris travel guide in 1953, and how his grandniece has followed in his footsteps. 

That’s it for me. We’re in the home stretch of the school year and I know I’ll regret this in about three weeks, but I’m counting down the days, too. 🤓 Thanks for reading.

Kristen