Harvard’s Nieman Foundation — which offers a fellowship program to mid-career journalists — launched a terrific Guide to Covering Pandemic Flu earlier this autumn. Reporters, producers, editors, and news directors: this site, written “by journalists, for journalists,” is for you.
Stefanie Friedhoff, the guide’s editor, describes it as a “one-stop resource to help reporters, editors and newsroom managers get up to speed in reporting on pandemic influenza.” Why did Nieman think this was important?
History shows that the flu story presents major hurdles for those who cover it—from dealing with common misconceptions about influenza to newsroom tendencies to either hype or ignore the story to the challenges of providing context and clarity on a subject rife with uncertainty, change and confusion.
At the same time, journalists play a crucial role in keeping people informed during an outbreak.
The site provides advice from seasoned flu reporters (whose ranks are thinning) to help those learning the beat on-the-go with H1N1.
The advice and other resources are broken down into topics in the left-hand sidebar. You’ll find everything from science explainers to ideas for local angles on pandemic flu to tips on keeping your newsroom flu free.
Check it out. If you’re chronically busy and on deadline, there’s no need to read it all at once — it’s easy to scan it for one or two choice pages at a time.
Friedhoff notes that if you’d like to contribute an article to the guide, or if you have other suggestions, you can contact her at stefanie_friedhoff[at]harvard[dot]edu.
