JOUR 2000: Introduction to Journalism Writing

Under increasingly intense newsroom demands, reporters often find it difficult to cover the complexity of topics that deal with racial and social inequality. This path-breaking book lays out simple, effective reporting strategies that equip journalists to investigate disparity's root causes.

Trauma Reporting provides vital information on developing a healthy, professional and respectful relationship with those who choose to tell their stories during times of trauma, distress or grief.

Built on the hands-on reporting style and curriculum pioneered by the University of Missouri, this introductory textbook teaches students how to write about and communicate with people of backgrounds that may be different from their own, offering real-world examples of how to practice excellent journalism and strategic communication that take culture into account. Specifically, the book addresses how to: engage with and talk across difference; identify the ways bias can creep into our communications, and how to mitigate our tendencies toward bias; use the concept of fault lines and approach sources and audiences with humility and respect; communicate with audiences about the complexity inherent in issues of crime, immigration, sports, health inequalities, among other topics; interpret census data categories and work with census data to craft stories or create strategic campaign strategies; reconsider common cultural assumptions about race, class, gender, identity, sexual orientation, immigration status, religion, disability, and age, and recognize their evolving and constructed meaning and our role as professional communicators in shaping national discussions of these issues.