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Covering Sensitive Teen Issues

By Candy J. Cooper

Published 5.31.05

Cutting, or self-mutilation, a behavior once associated with institutional life -- prisons, psychiatric hospitals, or juvenile detention centers -- had crept into the wider world of adolescence. I found cutting in a high-achieving, affluent suburban high school where I was able to trace, from the point of view of one young woman, an “outbreak.” From such stories I've developed tips for pursuing sensitive topics that may call for reporting on the inner lives of teens. 

-Offer to speak to a journalism class and then troll for stories. Come with a list of ideas, including those that demonstrate openness to sensitive topics. Invite discussion about portrayals of teenagers in the media, and ask what is not being written about the students and their school. If access is limited, get to know guidance counselors, or find other meeting places for teens outside the school.

-Latch on to a savvy student to act as agent and guide. If your ultimate subject is fearful or unreliable, find someone who can act as a go-between, informing you of developments in the subject's life -- while also relaying to the subject your own perseverance.

-Enter your subject’s world, whenever and wherever. Contact your subject via e-mail, instant message and cell phone, and find online journals as a starting point. Then, if appropriate, go where your subject goes -- school play rehearsals, the school bathroom where they meet, Dunkin’Donuts, the local hipster coffee house and, ultimately, home and bedroom.

-Repeated in-person contacts demonstrate sincerity – more powerfully than just about anything else. Like the AA slogan says: “Keep Coming Back; It Works.”

-Talk about your goal, your subject’s goal. You are invading the privacy of an unstable adolescent. Talk to the subject about the potential value of this intrusion and your subject’s reasons for letting you in. If you arrive at a mutual sense of purpose, it can help move the story forward during difficult moments.

-Consider the fragility of child subjects. Talk to many adults in your subject’s life, including family members, therapists and school counselors for a sense of your teen’s ability to weather the reporting and publishing of their story. Be frank with your subject about possible outcomes.

-When subjects become elusive, remain gently persistent. If your interviewee is out of touch for a few days, leave inquiries, and then back off.  Intense conversations may require a psychic rest as interviews proceed. Go with the rhythm and pace that your subject (not your editor) can manage.

-If sources freak, listen to them. Remind them of the shared goals of the story, then listen, listen, listen to their apprehensions. Share old clips demonstrating sensitivity to past subjects, and meet again to discuss their concerns.

-Consider trading anonymity for detail and depth. Report out the story as thoroughly as possible, recording as much detail about character, place, family history and social milieu as possible. Read books on your topic and talk to every expert. Then think about blurring identifiers to protect your sources’ private lives.

-Get parental consent -- after discussing with parents or guardians the reporting process you envision. If you intend to maintain your subject's  anonymity, try to identify the ways in which you will protect their identity throughout your reporting and writing.

-Share the wealth. If your story appears to achieve the public service goals your subject hoped for, forward e-mails and letters of gratitude as proof.

Candy J. Cooper is a freelance journalist, formerly with The (Bergen County) Record.