Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma

Covering Trauma: Impact on Journalists

By River Smith and Elana Newman

An overview of current research on the occupational hazards for journalists covering traumatic events, the risk factors that aggravate those effects and some suggestions for mitigating those factors.

Miscellaneous

A list of commercial publications that address issues in journalism.

Breaking Bad News

This booklet is intended to offer informal guidance in circumstances where journalists, their editors or managers are required to tell next-of-kin of the death of a colleague.

Self-Study Unit 1: Journalism & Trauma

V. Self-Care Primer

Similar to police, firefighters, and first responders to critical incidents, journalists are often exposed to highly stressful, traumatic situations, and required to bear witness to others who have been overwhelmed by traumatic events.

Covering Children & Trauma

III. For Editors

By Ruth Teichroeb

The single best way for editors to improve coverage of child trauma is to create beats where reporters regularly do stories about kids. That means expanding beyond the traditional education beat and assigning journalists to specialize in social policy, child trends or family issues. Those reporters will become experts at interviewing and writing about kids. They will know whom to call when a 13-year-old boy is charged with killing his parents or an infant is found abandoned on a sidewalk.

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Political Communication

A list of academic publications with emphasis on political communication and psychology.

Breaking Bad News

III. Important Considerations

DON'T telephone the family/bereaved in advance to say you are coming. Try to find out discreetly where they might be found in person. If you need to break the news in the workplace, ask the person's manager beforehand for a quiet space to meet.

Self-Study Unit 4: The First 24 Hours

III. The Stories

Here are some examples of stories that were written soon after a traumatic event. Read this articles to get a sense for what a journalist has to go through after a major catastrophe to write a story for the next day's news.

Tragedies & Journalists

III. Your Community

By Joe Hight and Frank Smyth

Understand that your coverage of a traumatic event will have an impact on your readership, viewers or listeners. Remember that the tone of your coverage may reflect the tone of the community's reaction to it. Thus, you should establish policies that affect your coverage: For example, consider coverage of public memorial services for the victims, instead of private funerals. And, if you do cover private services, call the funeral home to ensure that you will not intrude.

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Self-Study Unit 3: Photography & Trauma

III. Effects of Trauma Exposure

Although photojournalists photograph a wide range of subject matter, sooner or later they will have to photograph something that they and their readers find deeply disturbing.