Response Ability for Journalism
Response Ability for Journalism
The overall purpose of the Response Ability project for Journalism Education is to influence tertiary curriculum so that graduates in journalism will be aware of and able to respond to issues relating to suicide and mental illness.
As an international postgraduate student I now feel I can more confidently report on issues of suicide and mental health whilst being considerate to society and those directly involved/implicated.
(Student, University of Queensland, April 2005)
This project is an initiative of the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing, under the National Suicide Prevention Strategy and the National Mental Health Strategy. The project forms part of the Mindframe National Media Initiative, which aims to ensure responsible, accurate and sensitive representation of suicide and mental illness in the media.
The Response Ability multi-media package for Journalism Education
The Resources
The Response Ability resources were developed in collaboration with health professionals and journalism educators after extensive consultation. The package provides journalism educators with a tool that will assist in introducing journalism students to the professional and ethical issues involved in reporting on mental illness, mental health care, and suicide. The package includes case studies, media examples and discussion questions provided on CDs for lecturers and students, VHS, and printed notes and examples.
In addition to the kit educators and students are able to access information, research, resources and educational material online at www.responseability.org
The website was originally launched in conjunction with the kits but has undergone upgrades over the past few years. The website allows the project team to offer electronic updates of existing and new resources including current case study examples and lecture material for educators, and receives approximately 2,500 hits per month.
The multimedia resource kits were initially produced in 2001 and distributed to educators at the start of 2002 to every Australian University offering journalism. Additional supplementary resources were developed in 2004 and distributed in 2005 to enhance the currency of the resources. The new supplementary CD included issues related to suicide in other contexts (such as euthanasia and murder-suicide) and the reporting of violent incidents involving those with mental illness.
The package is available free of charge to all universities offering relevant programs. It is also available for use by media organisations to support in-house training programs.
Other resources also available include:
- A4 student quick reference cards and A2 posters containing issues to consider when developing a piece on suicide or mental illness.
- PowerPoint CD-Rom containing lecture notes and slides for introductory lecture and optional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander slides.
Project Activities
The project team continues to engage with both journalism and broader communications educators by offering ongoing support and consultation, guest lectures for students and supporting academic ownership of the issues.
Across Australia there are 26 university campuses that offer journalism-specific degrees. Of these, all have copies of kit on campus and are currently the using the resources or planning to use them in the near future.
In addition to journalism programs, the project has recently expanded its focus to include broader degrees such as communications, media and public relations. Records indicate that there has been uptake of the resources across 23 university campuses offering these programs. Further to this, a new arm of the project titled Response Ability for Public Relations is currently in development, whereby a set of online resources will be made available specifically for use in Public Relations programs. The new resources will be piloted in semester 1, 2009.
To download the most recent project timeline click here and to download the December 2008 project update, click here.
Project Outcomes
Whilst resource development, dissemination and support are a large part of the project the project team also contribute to the growing body of research in mental health promotion, specifically in mental health and the media and other project activities. Project staff also conduct ongoing evaluations into the use, acceptance and awareness of the resources with educators and students.
You can view more information related to the project and specifically access past project updates and evaluations at www.responseability.org
Enquiries about this project can be directed to Senior Project Officer, Amy Laybutt on (02) 4924 6924 or email Amy.Laybutt@hnehealth.nsw.gov.au or alternatively you can contact the Program Manager, Jaelea Skehan (02) 4924 6925 or email Jaelea.Skehan@hnehealth.nsw.gov.au.
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