The Al Jazeera Media Institute has released a new training publication titled "A Guide to Humanitarian Journalism," aimed at enhancing journalists' skills in producing professional and ethical human interest stories. It places the human element at the heart of editorial attention, restoring the importance of addressing human suffering and aspirations within the contexts of wars, conflicts, and disasters.
This guide introduces readers to the origins of human interest journalism, its importance, roles, and preparation methods, as well as the ethical and professional standards of such stories. The guide also includes a section for discussion on human interest storytelling in the Palestinian context, which has become a fundamental issue of global concern.
The guide is structured around four main themes: The first theme provides an introduction to human interest journalism by defining its concept, highlighting its unique characteristics and importance, clarifying the differences between the journalistic definition of a human interest story and the broader use of the term "humanity," and presenting the essential pillars of a good human interest story.
The second section addresses the characteristics of the human-interest story, detailing its essential components and stages of production from conception to publication.
The third section focuses on the practical application, from researching the idea and determining the journalistic angle through editorial treatment, information gathering, and field investigation, culminating in writing the story, considering the reader's perspective, and constructing its narrative. The guide devotes considerable space in the fourth section to the ethics of human-interest journalism, particularly in light of the wars and crises the world is witnessing.