Trauma comes with the job in journalism, but the lack of acknowledgment for trauma’s effects on journalists has been a public health issue.
The reasons reach back to the newsrooms of the 1800s, says Dr. Desiree Hill, a journalism professor at the University of Central Oklahoma who has studied journalism and trauma.
“Journalists and managers believed that they were not susceptible to trauma … and that their role protected them. But of course, the evidence shows otherwise,” Hill says. And journalists did not want to admit to anything that would make them look weak or unable to cover major news. Women joining newsrooms in large numbers later also “did not want to admit to feeling traumatized, because it was difficult already to be female in the workplace.”
“There is also a feeling (in newsrooms) of – it’s not about us. It’s about the people who are suffering. To bring our own emotions into the situation can feel wrong,” Hill adds.
Hill was executive producer at KWTV in Oklahoma City in 1995 when the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was bombed by two domestic terrorists, killing 168 people and injuring more than 500. Her interest in the subject of trauma and journalists really began then, and she made a study of the event. “Timeline of Trauma: A case study of newsroom management during and after the Oklahoma City bombing” analyzes the transcripts of more than 60 interviews of journalists who covered the bombing, including leaders, news directors, editors and station managers.
July 28, 2019
Gilroy, California, 4 dead including the gunman; 17 injured at the Gilroy Garlic Festival
August 3, 2019
El Paso, Texas, 22 dead; 25 injured at a Walmart
August 4, 2019
Dayton, Ohio, 10 dead including the gunman; 17 injured at a downtown historic area
The culture of journalism is changing, but slowly and at a difficult time, experts note.
“On the one hand, there’s a lot more knowledge in our profession on trauma as an issue, and there’s somewhat less stigma around talking,” says Bruce Shapiro, executive director of the Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma. The center is a project of Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism that encourages innovative reporting on violence, conflict and tragedy worldwide.
“On the downside, we’re facing certain pressures that act as gasoline on the fire of PTSD when it does happen. We’re working amid a climate of threat, for example. A climate of threat that gets ratified from the highest office in the country. And of trolling, of online harassment and of gender-based harassment of women in journalism, all of which are happening at a much higher rate and at a much-accelerated pace than before,” Shapiro says.
Hill advocates the need for support in the newsroom as a whole.
“Support is a wide area. It can be physical – food (hot healthy comfort food – not just pizza), rain jackets during storm and hurricane coverage. It can be leadership – checking in, being accessible, going to staff – not waiting for them to come to you,” she says. “From the top, other departments can be supportive, answering phones, helping any way they can. Corporate leaders can send in staff from other markets so journalists can get time off and rest.”
It is also important to understand how secondary trauma can affect managers, she notes.
“We need to remember that the managers are experiencing trauma as well. They can be suffering from secondary traumatic stresses and feel responsibility and guilt for what is happening to crews in the field,” Hill says. “I advocate training for leaders specifically for trauma, as well as peer training because journalists rely on one another. We can improve on peer support with small amounts of training and knowledge,” she says.
Seeking information about healthy ways to provide support doesn’t take much.
“Oklahoma City has experienced a number of traumatic events, including the bombing and regular tornado outbreaks with a large and tragic loss of life,” Hill says. “Managers who’ve been around for all of these events have grown and added to their leadership skills. For example, it’s not just ‘open door.’ Managers have learned they have to go to staff, sit down, say hello, [and ask] ‘How are you doing?’ ”
Hill and others now are working to teach awareness and coping methods in school.
“I believe this subject is ready to burst out and we can make new progress,” she says. “I am very optimistic right now about this subject. We have a new generation of journalism leaders, researchers, and people who are ready to take the next steps to make change.” ■
Katherine C. Gilyard is a student at Howard University based in Washington, D.C. Her interests are covering science, health and their overlap with culture. She is available for freelance work. katherinegilyard.format.com
Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma
The center is a resource that provides literature, research, advocacy and training on reporting on and coping with work-related trauma. The free resources benefit newsrooms, leaders and managers with training and researched-backed literature, journalists with tip sheets and information on self-care and actionable peer support. dartcenter.org
Journalists Covering Trauma
A private, off the record, Facebook group for journalists.
From the Facebook page:
As mass shootings become more common in the United States, so do newsrooms that have covered one or more. This is a group for those journalists and their newsrooms. Here, you can give advice on how you coped from the secondhand grief, ask how to approach a source on a sensitive topic, and share tips on follow-up stories in the months and years ahead. This is a place for journalists to ask for and give emotional and professional support.
The Mind Field
Co-founded by a former journalist-turned-therapist, Anna Mortimer, provides a platform for connecting international development workers, journalists and similar professionals with caring and intelligent therapists.
From the website: “Life in the field can be stressful in many ways. If you are feeling disillusioned, jaded, unsafe, anxious, can’t sleep, burnt-out, need a drink, stressed, exhausted, overwhelmed, struggling to cope…We are HERE to HEAR you.” themindfield.world
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
From the website: “The Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals.” suicidepreventionlifeline.org
Crisis Text Line
A free, confidential, 24/7 support for those in crisis. Text 741741 from anywhere in the US to text with a trained Crisis Counselor. crisistextline.org
