Difficult topics are a reality for high schoolers: Here’s how to cover them

By Olivia Sugg, First Flight High School ’23

When a student at West Brunswick High School drowned, newspaper students at the West Wind were faced with the challenge of processing their emotions while reporting the story.

“While we were processing our grief (we had to) go about our jobs in a way that was professional and respectful to the family and the friends of the student,” said West Wind Adviser Anna Saunders. 

Saunders told students to “put the ball in the other person’s court” when reporting on sensitive topics and ask them what they think is important.

“Really make it about the person that you’re interviewing – don’t even think about the story whenever you do the interview,” Saunders said. 

While students and advisers say that topics such as student or faculty deaths, sexual assault, drug use, suicide and mental health issues are difficult to cover, they are a reality for high school students. High school publications across the state have covered these difficult topics.

Michael Messele, East Mecklenburg High ’23 wrote a strong editorial condemning a nearby school district’s handling of sexual assault cases in 2021.

In order to cover such a difficult and complex topic, Messele did his homework, said fellow staff member Kaitlyn Meehan. Before he wrote the editorial, Messele had attended trials and interviewed survivors of sexual assault at Myers Park High School for a documentary series he was working on.

Messele was the only male student on staff and he had not experienced sexual assault, but he made it a priority to center survivors’ voices. 

“Knowing from a male’s perspective, I haven’t gone through anything like that, or anything similar,” Messele said. “So understanding the importance of actually making sure that I was reporting accurately and making sure I was bringing to light the actual harsh things that those young girls had to go through was the hardest part.”

Messele said that talking to people who have been in difficult situations when you have no idea what they are feeling is no easy task. Yet there are some ways to make these conversations easier for the reporter.

“The general advice is always that you go with care and understanding and be sensitive to the situation,” said Bill Allen, adviser at East Mecklenburg High School. “Ask easy questions first and ease into the situation so that they’re comfortable before you ask the harder questions.”

Making sure people are comfortable is integral for getting a good interview that will inform the reader, Allen said, as it allows them to speak freely about whatever topic is being discussed. 

“Ask permission, reach out via text or email or something first because then it’s less intense,” Saunders said. “I think that heads-up gives people the time to process and say I am ready to talk about it or I’m not ready to talk about it.”

While serious interviews need to be as comfortable as possible, Joy Roberts, adviser at Richlands High said that understanding the interview is being conducted for the sole purpose of educating an audience is still important. 

“Base coverage of the difficult topics in growing knowledge of the audience. Use fact, be very critical on bias and have the main purpose to be about growing the knowledge of the reader, not trying to expose,” said Roberts.

All of these tips need to be taken into account when considering the feelings of someone who has a tough experience to share, but Messele also said that reporting on these experiences can also be hard on the journalist. 

“Always ask for help throughout the journey because it’s always good to be humble and know that you might not always know what you’re doing,” Messele said. “Be willing to ask for help and know that the people that you’re covering should be the primary focus.” 

Asking for help as a journalist is hard but is one of the most important things to do when reporting on a difficult topic. When these sensitive events do happen, it can be hard on a journalist as they begin to plan their coverage which is why many schools have policies in place specifically for situations like student deaths. 

“In our staff manual, we have a section on controversial issues with a section on obituaries,” Saunders said. “Last year, we had a student pass away in a drowning accident and having a policy that we could refer back to and textbooks that also had some verbiage on that really helped us.”

Stories on sensitive topics are hard for any journalist, but having a policy in place for when bad things happen can make covering these topics easier. 

The difficulty of tackling a hard story can pay off when the story is finally shared with the world, educating others on these sensitive topics. High school journalists are capable of taking on a story with sensitive and difficult topics, as these sensitive topics are hitting high schoolers across North Carolina just as much as they affect adult populations, as seen with the sexual assault cases at Myers Park.  

Messele said his peers did not understand that sexual assault could happen in high school, much less at one in their area, but when his editorial was released, he saw the power of his journalism to raise awareness.

“It was a feeling of relief and an excitement (when my editorial was released) due to the fact that I was sharing this with so many other people that might not be truly aware of it,” Messele said. “Especially people at my school had their eyes opened and were like ‘wow, I didn’t know this happened’ so it was a really good moment.”

Tips on writing a difficult story:

• Do your homework
• Go in with care and understanding 
• Be sensitive to the situation
• Ask easy questions first and ease into the situation so that they’re comfortable before you ask the harder questions
• Ask permission for an interview, reach out via text or email or something first because then it’s less intense
• Put the ball in the other person’s court, don’t lead so much with the questions that you have, but let the person talk and share, asking for their stories and what that they think is important
• Really make it about the person that you’re interviewing – don’t even think about the story whenever you do the interview.
• Base coverage of the difficult topics in growing knowledge of the audience, not trying to expose
• Use fact
• Be very critical on bias
• Ask for help 
• Make the people you are covering the primary focus
• Have a policy in place that your publication can refer to when bad things happen