Understanding campus media coverage of sexual assault from a survivor perspective

Undergraduate: Hannah Petersen

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Anne Johnston
Department: Journalism & Mass Communication

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Across the nation, campus newspapers are amplifying efforts to obtain detailed sexual assault records held by their respective universities. Should campus news organizations succeed in their requests, student reporters would have access to information that could lead to more substantive coverage of the issue and help hold institutions accountable, but could also violate the privacy of survivors and individuals involved in the case. There has been relatively little research done of campus media to guide its coverage of sexual assault on their campuses. Because of their proximity to the issue of sexual assault, campus media is often first to cover the topic. Due to this position, campus papers would do well to take a survivor centered approach to coverage of sexual assault guided by the voices of survivors in the form of a best practices guide. Through conducting interviews with survivors and campus journalists at UNC-Chapel Hill, this research investigates how both parties understand their role within media for the purpose of creating a survivor centered best practices guide that campus journalists can utilize when approaching stories about sexual assault.