"With this guide, I aim to help journalists navigate the ethical dilemmas they encounter as they interview people who have experienced harm. While there are numerous practical guides on such interviewing, especially on trauma journalism, I have yet to find a guide that explores the deeper ethical questions of what conditions, if any, make such journalism morally justifiable and not purely extractive or voyeuristic. I’ve also encountered little public record of journalists discussing these ethical questions though I am confident that such conversations happen, whether at conferences or in private. This guide aims to bring those conversations to the wider public so that journalists and non-journalists alike can see how some of us are thinking through these questions and trying new approaches in search of a more mutually beneficial journalism." (Introduction, page 2)
Rule #1: Make sure your sources know what to expect, 3
Rule #2: Don’t mislead or confuse your sources (even with the best intentions), 4
Rule #3: Take a stance sometimes, 5
Rule #4: Look for ways to give your sources some editorial control, 7
Rule #5: Use research and planning as tools of sensitivity, 9
Rule #6: Address your sources’ information gaps appropriately, 10
Rule #7: When relevant, report on solutions, 10
Rule #8: Follow up, 11
Rule #9: Give something back, 11
Rule #10: Know what you and your outlet bring to the table (for better or worse), 14
Rule #11: Get ready to think big picture, 16
Rule #12: Ask the hard questions (If you’re in doubt, you’re in good company), 18