The seaside town of Coffs Harbour, on the east coast of Australia was host to a gathering of Australian and New Zealand journalists, photographers and editors in March-April, 2007.  Facilitated by the Dart Centre Australasia, participants spent three days in dialogue about personal and professional issues surrounding the reporting of trauma. 

Participants, left to right: Gary Tippet, senior writer, the Sunday Age; Brett McLeod, Reporter, Channel Nine Melbourne; John Crowley, Group Editor, Fairfax, N.Z.; Melissa Sweet, freelance journalist and author; Bruce Shapiro, Dart Center executive director; Andrew Meares, Photographer, Sydney Morning Herald; Jessica Adamson, Reporter, Channel Seven Adelaide; Sharon Marshall, Reporter, Channel Ten Brisbane; Bill Pheasant, Deputy Editor, Opinion and Editorial, Australian Financial Review; Lisa Millar, Reporter, ABC; Philip Williams, Presenter, Stateline, ABC; Suzanne Smith, Reporter/Producer, Lateline, ABC; Leigh Winburn, Photographer/Pictorial Editor, The Mercury, Hobart; Kimina Lyall, author and former foreign correspondent; Rob Maccoll, Photographer, Courier-Mail Brisbane; Cait McMahon, director, Dart Centre Australasia; Trina McLellan, subeditor and journalism educator, Courier-Mail, Brisbane.

This event was the first of its kind in Australia and allowed participants to learn about the science of trauma, whilst also having the opportunity to share first hand about the impact of reporting on tragedy and violence. 

The weekend commenced with journalists reviewing what had gone well for them in their professional lives, what hadn’t gone so well and what were the sustaining factors in these moments. The journalists identified a number of supporting factors such as: belief in ones self, interests outside of journalism, collegial and family support, tapping into the love of writing and recording news — the love of the craft, a sense of humour, informal checks by managers and colleagues, access to counselling and physical outlets such as sport and yoga.

In learning that a sense of meaning is an important factor in maintaining resilience the participants further discussed what meaning their work had for them. A number of participants said they valued the impact that journalism can have on democracy with its power to create change and to give people a voice; feeling that journalism was part of their core identity as a human being; integrity and pride in the work, and the importance of sharing information were just some of the aspects that gave meaning.

Participants also shared examples of their work and discussed trauma and journalism from ‘in the field’ experiences.  Powerful presentations from reporting the Indian Ocean tsunami, East Timor, domestic road accidents, infant deaths, and the Garuda air crash were used as a springboard for such conversations.

The culmination of the weekend was the plan that participants will carry forward to be active in the industry.  The ‘Open Letter to Managers and Editors’ is one of the exciting actions they initiated.