Project offers multi-faceted help for ethical addiction reporting

Reporting on Addiction is a collaborative project staffed by media professionals with a shared goal of decreasing addiction stigmas by providing best practices for covering all types of addiction. The project touts an array of options for newsrooms of all sizes, including professional and student newsroom training, research-based reporting resources, and an active expert database for question-and-answer volleys with an actual human.

Their website just added a visual guide for journalists to use for photo portrayals of addiction that keep ethical journalism's first principle of do no harm at its heart. "Visual journalism has the power to create deep and lasting connections beyond the written word; therefore, visual journalists must be highly intentional to reduce harm and honor their sources' full experiences while also educating their audiences." Access their one-page visual style guide here.

If your community is receiving opioid lawsuit materials, the project has an introductory newsletter series that "will bring you up-to-speed about the settlement money and how you can cover it in your city, county, or state. It also offers a Slack channel to "share resources, your work, and get questions answered." Everything from "Fireside chats" to style guides to sensitivity reads are also available. Their database is searchable and vetted

Reporting on Addiction offers training that is for journalists and people working in addiction spaces who want to improve media coverage but may not know where to start. Their training helps reporters and professionals by providing:

• Newsroom-level trainings that discuss the latest in addiction science, how stigma can unintentionally appear in reporting, and how to use resources to improve stories. 
• Group trainings to prepare participants to translate their message to a broader audience. 
• Group training that focuses on empowering people in their interactions with local, regional and national journalists. The goal is for participants to come away with a basic understanding of how journalists find them and make decisions about reporting, best practices for interacting with the media, and how to cultivate relationships with journalists to improve coverage today.

Journalists, educators and experts can complete an online request for training. Custom training is also available.