photo | Maren Halpin
When University of Alabama senior Jacob Ritondo was first contacted by the family of Hunter Whitley, he had no idea a story that would define the rest of his college career was unfolding.
Whitley was a United States Marine veteran attending the University of Alabama. In November 2022, just months after he was honorably discharged from service in July, Whitley died by suicide.
The story began as a feature on the veteran mental health support nonprofit Whitley’s family founded in his memory, The Hunter Whitley Butterfly Initiative. Over the next few months, another story unfolded – one diving into how Veterans Affairs healthcare services failed Whitley, and the care gaps experienced by veterans nationwide.
“I very quickly realized it’s not only Hunter, it’s veterans nationwide,” said Ritondo.
The story launched a passion for reporting on veterans within his coverage for the University of Alabama’s student newspaper for Ritondo, who is the managing editor of The Crimson White.
Ritondo joined Lolita Baldor, a retired national security and military reporter at the Associated Press, and Linda Hersey, a veterans reporter for military newspaper Stars and Stripes, for a Friday morning MediaFest25 session addressing how student journalists can best cover their veteran and active service member peers.
While the tragedies and struggles of veterans are real and important to cover – including high rates of substance abuse disorder, post traumatic stress and traumatic brain injuries – coverage on veterans from most publications have fallen short, said Hersey.
“A lot of stories broadbrush them as victims, not just as people,” said Hersey. “Veterans have higher employment rates than the general public, so many of them are small business owners. We need to be covering their wins, too.”
Achieving more balanced and less stereotype-driven coverage starts with one simple step: talk to veterans.
“It’s really important in coverage to get the voices of the veterans themselves,” said Hersey. “Many of the best stories I’ve done, the ideas came from them.”
Building trust and connections with veterans and listening to what they are experiencing, rather than assuming what they are facing and achieving, reveals the true stories that would otherwise go untold.
“Veteran stories today, more often than not, are falling between the cracks,” said Baldor.
The stories of ROTC students are also widely under-covered, said Baldor, leaving much on the table.
“There is a lot to learn from what your school’s ROTC program looks like,” said Baldor. “It’s such a great way to localize some of the big national military stories.”
She said exploring whether military recruiters are allowed on campus, the demographic breakdown of the school’s ROTC, and recruitment and retention numbers provide great places for student journalists to start with these stories..
Nearly seven months after Ritondo’s story about Whitley ran, his commitment to this new beat has remained unwavering, digging into the barriers student veterans on his campus face when seeking their benefits, mental health care and the transition into college life.
“I never expected to love this beat as much as I do, but I can absolutely see a future in it now,” said Ritondo.
Tagged under: ACP, CMA, SPJ News, USMC, mediafest25