The Winter 2009 issue of Nieman Reports, “Trauma in the Aftermath,” has a lot to offer storytelling journalists. Richard Mollica of the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma warns against “toxic trauma stories.” Former South African Broadcasting Corporation reporter Antjie Krog talks about the danger of interfering with history while covering it.

In a session on visual storytelling, MediaStorm’s Brian Storm discusses Intended Consequences, a multimedia narrative on the long-term results of rape campaigns during the Rwandan genocide. Glenn Ruga and Barbara Ayotte, founders of SocialDocumentary.net, talk about their shift from depicting crisis to motivating viewers to make change happen. “Human rights photography,” says Ruga, “is actionable as opposed to representational.”

The Dart Center’s Bruce Shapiro uses the novel Billy Budd to address the concept of the “inside narrative,” a story that goes beyond the official account and helps readers to understand what happened in ways that official outlets can’t or won’t.

Good stuff. Read the full issue.