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Our multi-part series examines reporting
about Columbine on the shooting anniversary from the perspectives
of victims, journalists and trauma scientists.
New Wounds & Healing
Over the past year, media coverage of Littleton, Colorado, has
been extensive, and for some, excessive. Anniversary coverage
last month took families and friends of victims and the survivors
back in memory to the fears and terror of April 20, 1999.
A Photographer's Perspective
David Handschuh, staff photographer for the New York Daily
News, had just returned to his office when his editor told
him to go to Littleton, Colorado. Six hours after watching the
event unfold on television, he was at Columbine, covering the
deadliest school shooting in U.S. history.
Three Views on the Images
Photographs convey the emotion of a tragedy, but the images may
serve to wound as well as to heal. Such was the case with news
photos used after the Columbine shootings in April 1999. How do
we judge pictures that take us closer to the grief and shock of
people whose lives are directly touched by violence?
Interviewing Children
Beth Frerking, director of the Casey Journalism Center for Children
& Families at the University of Maryland, told us that journalists
should always distinguish child subjects from adults. "You
have to always remember that you're not interviewing a politician
or public figure," she said. "These are kids. You treat
them as you would want a reporter to treat your child."
A Willingness to Talk
Despite their emotional distress, many students appeared to be
willing to talk to the news media. For the past year, there has
been speculation about why students at Columbine were more willing
to speak with journalists than students in other school shootings.
Reporters' Perspectives
They spend a lifetime covering city council meetings, working
the police beat and sitting through school board meetings. But
every now and then when their mind drifts away from the day's
events, nearly all journalists wonder what it would be like if
the big one ever came their way.
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