How to write about dying?
July 25, 2008 by grzegorz.piechota
It is probably the most difficult topic. Not only for journalists, it is hard for everybody. It is a public taboo. So starting a public debate about dying is a necessity.
“Dying is an experience that we don’t know how to cope with. We are afraid not only of dying, we are afraid of talking about it, even thinking about it,” wrote Piotr Pacewicz, deputy editor-in-chief of Gazeta Wyborcza, the best read Polish newspaper in March 2008.
Gazeta – well known for its public campaigns – launched a new one called “Humane Dying”. It is an obvious reference to the campaign “Humane Birth” that in the last 12 years improved services offered to young mothers by Polish maternity wards.
Now we decided that it was a high time to try to improve services offered to old and ill people.
We launched this campaign together with the Hospice Foundation based in Gdansk. It is a non-governmental body that offered us a professional support and advice.
1. Debate in the newspaper
On the launch day we put “Humane Dying” slogan on the front page. We explained the reasons of the campaign and our plans in an editorial article that served that day as a main story on page number 1.
The campaign started with a new daily section in the newspaper. During the week Gazeta published many features, interviews and letters.
The first feature was about Ilona Miller, a woman from Gdansk who volunteered at the hospice there. When she found she had a cancer, she decided to die in the same place she served. Ilona adviced us when we were working on our campaign’s plans. She died just before the launch.
She said: “Death is closing one’s eyes and opening somebody else’s.” We run this campaign with her last words in mind.
Examples of other topics:
- How to die in a humane way? “The beginning is not very different from the end. A man is nude and helpless. He needs a support because he is afraid,” said in an interview Piotr Krakowiak, a director of Hospice Foundation that co-organises the campaign “Humane Dying”.
- I did not come here to convert you: it was an interview with Father Stanislaw Wysocki working with dying persons in the hospital (see the picture below).
- Come to me, please: it was a feature story about “bad deaths” – about the people who pass alone.
- A house of departures: it was a heart-breaking video documentary shot at the hospice by our journalists and some volunteers. It had its premiere online.
- Where is the death hiding today? There were opinion articles by a sociologist, psycho-oncologist, advertising proffesional.
- Letters: we got thousands of letters. We could publish in the printed newspaper just a fraction. We put more letters online. Read a short summary prepared by our deputy editor-in-chief Piotr Pacewicz.
2. Activities on the field
As we really wanted to make a difference, we prepared a campaign’s plan for the whole year. Gazeta is happy to have its own public campaigning department financed by a foundation of Gazeta’s publisher: a multimedia company Agora SA.
Here are the main activities planned for “Humane Dying” campaign:
- Volunteers: We invited schools and universities to attend training sessions about how to serve dying patients at the hospices and hospitals. These training programs are open to teachers and students. All participants will get professional advice and diplomas. Students are invited to write down their experiences from volunteer work at hospices and hospitals. The best articles will be awarded.
- 10 rights of a dying human being: We promote the ten commandments, for example: dying person have a right to die in his own home, a right to get an honest information about his condition, or a right to get a professional psychological help. We invite hospices and hospitals to promote these ten commandments among their workers and patients. We offer them materials and professional advice.
- Guide on hospices and hospitals: In November we are going to publish a guide about conditions and policies at hospices and hospitals in Poland. It will be based on data gathered from the authorities, these institutions and a survey among Gazeta’s readers.
- Communication: We launched a secretariat for the campaign, a hotline and a website for all the parties involved. This is the best way to spread information about our activities and how to get involved. Of course, we launched also an advertising campaign. If you want to learn more about it, read here.
Tagged: campaign, debate, Gazeta, newspaper, NGO partners, taboo
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