April 27, 2020

New guidelines for journalists reporting on COVID-19 have recently been published by Professor Karin Wahl-Jorgensen, Director of Research Development and Environment at the School of Journalism, Media and Culture at Cardiff University. They were put together by a team of 15 academics and journalists from leading universities around the UK.

The guidelines were written to support the work of the Welsh NHS Confederation during the pandemic. IMPRESS says that they contain essential universal advice from which journalists in the UK can benefit in understanding how best to safely cover the crisis without adding unnecessarily to the existing burdens on the NHS.

One of the contributors to the guidelines, Matt Walsh, a senior lecturer at Cardiff University, has provided IMPRESS with a blog post in which he sets out key highlights from the guidelines.

Key highlights:

• use credible experts as sources and be wary of unverified rumour;
• news organisations should use pooled materials whenever possible;
• if looking for information verification, check other sources first before contacting NHS;
• ensure compliance with procedures for risk assessment and consent;
• enforce social distancing and ensure safe use of equipment;
• ensure risk assessments have been carried out before hospital visits and face-to-face interactions with NHS staff;
• obtain consent from anyone interviewed or filmed; and
• when making requests for interviews or information, be specific about who you need to speak to, and where, what and how the information will be used.

To read the blog post in full, click here.