Sensitivity in Journalism

It is important to me to remain ethical throughout my journalism career in order to stay true to what I am reporting about. This makes no change here with my Major Multimedia Project.

From the get go, I have explained to my two case studies Jake and Meg that the last thing I want to do is offend anyone. I have shown this after preparing interview questions and giving them both the opportunity to read them before going ahead. Upon meeting them both, I explained that they did not have to answer anything they did not feel comfortable with.

Journalists must always ensure that they are being considerate in how they approach an interviewee in regards to a sensitive subject, as they last thing they want to do it upset or anger someone. I discovered more and more in my research that Kleine-Levin Syndrome can be difficult to talk about, and that became evident when carrying out my interviews. I endeavoured to ask personal questions when I took on this project, which some people may have seen as rude or intrusive. I took the time to reach out to Jake and Meg before meeting them and explaining to them what the project would be about in an initial conversation, addressing any concerns they may have. I fear that if I wasn't sensitive towards them, I wouldn't have secured the interviews that I did.

It is important that journalists have carried out thorough research about a topic they are looking to pursue. When I first began looking into making a documentary about Kleine-Levin Syndrome, I found a blog dated back to 2011 about Jake and the condition, so I was able to make conversation with him about things that were listed online, and it influenced my profession and showed I was serious. I was prepared and organised for the questions I was about to ask and looked better on me for doing so.

Over the last 3 months I feel that, when necessary, I have reached out to all of my interviewees in an approachable manner and have been sensitive towards them throughout. I have ensured that I have made them feel comfortable by taking the time to make a conversation with them, which builds up trust between us both. Kleine-Levin Syndrome is a sensitive subject to talk about, which when the final documentary is completed, you'll be able to see why.