SESSION
Ethical challenges of mental health reporting
This session will consider the ethical dilemmas in mental health reporting and how science and health reporters can best approach these.
Our expert reporters will discuss the guidelines for ethical storytelling, strategies for engaging sensitively with sources, and the importance of contextualising research within broader socio-political frameworks.
Other important topics will include how to gain informed consent in mental health reporting, how to navigate the different cultural ways of understanding and accepting mental illness, and explain the limits of mental health science in general news stories, amongst others.
Our experts will expand on how to interview vulnerable people, how to cover trauma while avoiding sensationalism and re-traumatising interviewees, how to use image and video in this unique context, how to write ethically about suicide, and the use of trigger warnings and disclaimers. We will also consider how journalists can protect their own mental health while covering trauma and other sensitive issues.
Alexandra NistoroiuSession proposer, producer, speaker and moderator | Snoop.ro / Balkan Network of Science Journalists | Romania
Alexandra Nistoroiu is an award-winning journalist with more than 14 years of experience, focusing on health, science, and human rights. She currently works for the independent investigative outlet Snoop.ro in Romania, where she systematically covers mental health in her journalistic series called A system in therapy.
Myriam Vidal ValeroSpeaker | Mexican Network of Science Journalists | Mexico
Myriam Vidal Valero is a bilingual science and data journalist covering health, environment, and science policy across the USA and Latin America. Her work appears in Science, Nature, C&EN, amongst others. She coordinates a mentoring programme and holds an Master’s from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, CUNY.
Chibuike AlagbosoSpeaker | Nigeria Health Watch | Nigeria
Chibuike Alagboso is a health journalist at Nigeria Health Watch, a health communication and advocacy organisation based in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital. His writing focuses on efforts that tackle public health challenges in Nigeria.
Ania GruszczyńskaSpeaker | Pulitzer Center | United Kingdom
Ania Gruszczyńska is a journalist and documentary filmmaker residing in London. With a Master’s degree from the Columbia University School of Journalism, she tells stories about women, religion, culture, and mental health. Her documentary Sparni delves deeply into its character’s struggle with mental health issues.