Department of Mass Communication
Center for People and the Media

UCO's Department of Mass Communication supports a program of guidance and assistance to Oklahoma's newspaper industry to help prepare reporters to deal with victims of natural disasters and catastrophic events. The news media's experiences in covering the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks of 2001, the tornadoes of May 1999 that hit central Oklahoma, and the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 have shown a need for news outlets to be aware of the sensitivities and needs of victims.

UCO has received a grant from the Dart Foundation to pursue this statewide assistance in conjunction with the Oklahoma Press Association. Three of UCO's mass communication professors, Dr. Terry Clark, Dr. William Hickman and Dr. Kole Kleeman, have conducted a series of  statewide seminars to assist weekly and daily newspaper staffs. More assistance and guidance is forthcoming through further seminars. In addition, UCO offers a course on Victims and the Media  taught by Dr. Kole Kleeman as part of UCO's mass communication curriculum.

This page provides several links to resources and reference materials on victims and media coverage. It will be updated periodically as more resources are identified.

For more information, contact Dr. Terry Clark at tclark@ucok.edu or phone 405-974-5303.

• Association for Death Education and Counseling  
• Crime Victims Bureau
• Crime Victims for a Just Society
• Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma
• Institute on Violence, Abuse and Trauma
• Gavin de Becker & Associates
• The International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies
• Law Enforcement Alliance of America
• National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
• National Coalition of Homicide Survivors, Inc.
• National Crime Victims Research & Treatment Center
• National Domestic Violence Hotline
• National Organization for Victim Assistance
• The National Organization of Parents of Murdered Children
• U.S. Justice Department - Office for Victims of Crime
• The Vidocq Society - pro bono forensic specialists who solve cold cases

• "Covering Disasters" by Joe Hight, No Train-No Gain Web site
• "Covering Crime and Justice" University of Southern California Annenberg Institute for Justice and Journalism
• "Reporting On the 9-11 Victims: Are Journalists Making Wise Choices?" Sept. 21, 2001 Webcast, Michigan State University
• "Media Insensitivity to Victims of Violence" by Sue Carter, USA Today, July 1999
• "Journalists who cover victims risk hitting "The Wall" Michigan State University, Spring 1999 by Joe Hight, managing editor, The Oklahoman
• "Truth & Trauma: When a Tragedy Wounds Your Town, Coverage Often Adds to the Pain" by Elise S. Burroughs and Barbara Z. Gyles, Presstime, September 1997

Statistics & Research

• FBI Uniform Crime Reports
• MINCAVA Electronic Clearinghouse
• National Criminal Justice Reference Service
• Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics
• U.S. Justice Department - Bureau of Justice Statistics

New York State Web Site
 ● State Office of Homeland Security
New York City Web Site
 ● A tribute to the members of the New York City Fire Department
Fire Department of New York City
 ● 5th Anniversary 2006 - May We Never Forget
Port Authority of New York & New Jersey
 ● Port Authority to Hold Remembrance Service on Sept. 11, 2006
Terror in America: State by State Reaction
Live Reports from a Handheld
World Trade Center Tragedy: Video & Images (CNN)
David Letterman's remarks of Sept. 17, 2001

The Koran
A Journalist's Guide: Who are Arab-Americans?

The New York Times: Portraits of Grief
World Trade Center Memorial Sites United
World Trade Center Memorial Foundation

September 11: Lessons and Resources for Classroom Teachers
Helping Children Understand the Terrorist Attacks
Red Cross: Children & Disasters
The National Center for Victims of Crime: Sept. 11 Resources

Academic Information: Sept. 11 Resources

A Comprehensive List of Terrorist Attack Chat Rooms on IRC & the Internet
Yahoo!: The WTC Spirit & Support Network

Books

• Framing the Victim: Domestic Violence, Media, and Social Problems, by Nancy Berns. Aldine de Gruyter, 2004.
• Surveillance After September 11 (Themes for the 21st Century), by David Lyon. Polity Press,  2003.
• Portraits: 9/11/01: The Collected "Portraits of Grief" from The New York Times, Revised Edition, by Howell Raines (Foreword), Janny Scott (Introduction). Times Books, 2nd edition, 2003.
• Journalism After September 11 (Communication and Society), by Barbie Zelizer. Stuart Allan Routledge, 2002.
• Among the Heroes: United Flight 93 and the Passengers and Crew Who Fought Back, by Jere Longman. HarperCollins Publishers, 2002.
• September 11, 2001, by Andrews McMeel Publishing (Editor), The Poynter Institute (Editor). Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2001.
• What to Do When the Police Leave: A Guide to the First Days of Traumatic Loss, by Bill Jenkins and Patricia Cornwell. Richmond, Va.: WBJ Press, 2001.
• Covering Violence, by William E. Cote and Roger Simpson. New York: Columbia University Press, 2000, 288 pages.
• Random Violence: How We Talk About New Crimes and New Victims, by Joel Best. University of California Press,  1999.
• Obsession, by John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker. Pocket Books, 1998.
• Homicide: The Hidden Victims - A Guide for Professionals, by Deborah Spungen. Newbury Park, Calif.: Sage Publications, 1997.
• Victims in the News: Crime and the American News Media, by Steven M. Chermak. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1995, 207 pages.
• No Time for Goodbyes: Coping with Sorrow, Anger and Injustice After a Tragic Death, by Janice Harris Lord. Ventura, Calif.: Pathfinder Publications, 1991.
• Domestic Violence: The Criminal Justice Response, by Eve S. Buzawa and Carl G. Buzawa. Newbury Park, Calif.: Sage Publications, 1990.

• Crime Victims' Compensation Board, State District Attorneys Board
• Trust Your Instincts, University of Oklahoma Police Department Handbook on Sexual Assault Prevention