Making the right decisions regarding sensitive stories is easier if you have policies in place. Elements of sound policies for reporting sensitive issues are similar to the elements of solid news stories. The same questions should be asked and the same avenues pursued:

Who should participate in developing policies?

What should be reported?

Where should a story be displayed?

When should a story be published?

Why is it a story?

How should policies be communicated?

Who should participate in developing policies? The newspaper office is an excellent beginning point. Employees and, by extension, their families and friends, represent a diversity of backgrounds and experiences. Then there’s a vast second tier of people in the community. The individuals will vary, depending on the subject. Contacts should include those people directly affected by a policy, and others who may have a special perspective.

Solicitation of opinions must be genuine. Editors also must be square with people that, in the end, the parameters of a policy will be a newspaper decision. Newspapers might regularly convene “brown bag” lunches, inviting a cross-section of readers to discuss various practices and policies.

What should be reported? Newsrooms must strive to treat similar events in a similar manner. Consistency, however, does not mean that each instance is reported the same. Suicides are an excellent example. Newspapers may decide to report them, but only if they meet certain criteria. Did the death involve a public official? Did the death occur in a public setting? Did the death prompt an investigation? Answers are not always clear cut.  Also muddying the picture is the ability to get information.

Where should a story be displayed? This question, like many of the others, does not have a “one size fits all” answer. Some sensitive stories always deserve front-page coverage, and others should be placed on an inside page. Significance is a primary factor. Editors need to pause a moment when reporting on sensitive issues. Newspapers will win points from readers by avoiding the shock treatment of splashing a story on the front page.

When should a story be published? Newspapers often fall short of the mark in reporting the everyday public records, and editors often underestimate the impact of delayed reports. For example, consider a family that has gone through the painful process of bankruptcy. They’ve finally accepted and reconciled their predicament and are facing the future with a positive attitude. The newspaper carries the notice three months after the fact, prompting a new round of calls from creditors.

Why is it a story? Local news is the franchise of community newspapers. That includes good news, bad news, sensitive news and everything in between. Not all readers subscribe to that theory.

This is another time when it is helpful to involve as many people as reasonable. Visit with people who are directly involved in an issue. For example, what do grief counselors think of publication of photos from a fatal accident scene? Talk to regular readers, too. Consider all perspectives of why a story should be pursued. In the case of a fatal accident, will a story and/or photo draw attention to a community problem, such as the growing numbers of youths who are ticketed for drinking and driving? Will a story spur citizen action, such as a petition to install traffic signals at a particularly dangerous intersection?

How should policies be communicated? Newspapers constantly promote their pages as the best avenue for businesses, organizations, institutions and individuals to deliver messages. Yet newspapers remain among the worst at notifying readers of changes in their own operations. The “why” of reporting on sensitive issues warrants regular attention.  The more people who are aware of a change, the smoother the implementation. Newspapers must inform readers, the people who ultimately will be most affected and the ones who may not find out about changes until too late.

What does all this mean? Newspapers can go to great lengths to develop all sorts of policies, and they still will be caught flat-footed on occasion. News occurs 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Deadlines and other circumstances do not always allow newsrooms to refer to their ABCs of reporting sensitive issues, and then proceed in an orderly fashion. Even the most comprehensive written policies are certain to miss some circumstances.

Another element – discussion – is common to all of these steps in developing policies. All decisions are stronger if the options are talked about with as many individuals as possible – people within and outside of the newsroom. Discussions don’t mean consensus will be developed, but it assures that editors will get many perspectives before making a final call.

Jim Pumarlo writes, speaks and provides training on Community Newsroom Success Strategies. He is author of “Votes and Quotes: A Guide to Outstanding Election Coverage” and “Bad News and Good Judgment: A Guide to Reporting on Sensitive Issues in a Small-Town Newspaper.” He can be contacted at www.pumarlo.com.