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A newspaper journalist, fresh out of college,
arrives at the scene of a raging apartment fire at 2 a.m. to find
dozens of people standing behind a police barrier. Some of these
people seem to be in a daze, others are hysterical, and still
others are seemingly calm and rational.
In the course of talking
to a few people from emergency response and eyewitnesses, the
journalist learns that several residents of the apartment building
are unaccounted for. Soon a body is removed from the building
on a stretcher, and the mood of the crowd turns somber. One woman
in her mid- to late-fifties is sobbing uncontrollably as another
person, a man about her age, tries to console her. The journalist
overhears the woman crying in anguish about someone who might
still be in the building. With pen and notepad in hand, and with
some trepidation and uncertainty, the journalist approaches the
couple to get more information.
Journalists who cover traumatic events such as violent crimes,
horrific accidents, natural disasters and other situations in
which they witness human pain and suffering are often required
to approach and interview victims of trauma or their family members.
Unfortunately the skills needed to interact with people under
such stressful and unpredictable conditions do not usually come
naturally. Without knowledge about traumatic stress and proper
training in how to interact with potentially traumatized people,
journalists may find their interviews to be awkward, uncomfortable
and, in extreme cases, even re-traumatizing to their interviewees.
The goal of this module is to explain what traumatic stress
is and why it is useful for journalists to know about its effects. In the building fire example above, there are many people who
have just experienced a traumatic event, although not everyone
responds to that event in the same way. Because human response
to psychological trauma is varied, it is important for the journalist
not to make unfounded assumptions about what the person who has
experienced trauma is feeling. The adage, "You can't judge a book
by its cover," is particularly apt when assessing the state of
other people's emotions and well-being when they are under psychological
stress. Seemingly "normal" and composed people may be suffering
deeply but, for one reason or another, don't reflect that pain
outwardly. On the other hand, someone who is crying during an
interview may not necessarily want to stop talking. Indeed it
may be the interviewer who is uncomfortable and decides to end
the interview abruptly or prematurely, but the interviewee would
actually prefer to continue. The point is, interviewing and writing
about traumatized people professionally and accurately requires
a degree of skill and insight. This learning module can help in
that regard. Of course, this one module is not a comprehensive
treatment of the subject of journalism and trauma, but it attempts
to lay the essential framework for a study program that can help
those interested in the subject learn about it at their own pace
and enhance their basic understanding with additional resources
(e.g., readings, Web sites, videos, etc.)
There are various types of traumatic response that victims and
survivors of a traumatic event may experience. Acute stress disorder,
posttraumatic stress disorder, and secondary traumatic stress
each has its own set of criteria. A journalist who covers traumatic
events and their victims would do well to recognize particular
stress symptoms for accuracy and fairness in reporting. Moreover,
this module also examines the role that covering traumatic events
- especially after a prolonged period - has on journalists. We
are only beginning to learn that prolonged coverage of traumatic
events may trigger traumatic stress symptoms in journalists themselves.
It is hoped that by discussing this long-overlooked subject of
trauma effects on journalists, the profession as a whole will
benefit by improving its understanding and response to journalists'
emotional and psychological well-being.
By the end of this module, you should know:
- what traumatic stress is
- about posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), acute stress disorder
(ASD) and the potential effects of working with traumatized
individuals, including secondary traumatic stress, burnout,
and vicarious traumatization
- what the effects of traumatic stress are
- why it is important for journalists to know about these effects
- how to interview people who have experienced a traumatic event
- how to cope, as a journalist, with SSD
- where to get more information for continued learning
When you have gone through all the lessons in this module, try
testing your comprehension by taking the online quiz.
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