Media & Social/Structural Stress

The routines for covering breaking news--fires, accidents, shootings--are well established, but what happens when the emergency becomes the norm or the story never ends? In this course we explore the ways that the media have covered, or failed to cover, stories of ongoing systemic stress or failure--the pandemic, natural disasters, large-scale protests, war, poverty. How do these stressors change society and how do we connect the dots on these changes? What are the journalist's obligations? How does a newsroom identify such stories and organize their coverage? What happens after the journalist parachutes back out? The course will draw on case studies as well as scholarly material.