Produced by the Dart Research Lab at the University of Tulsa and the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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Eric Freedman"In the crosshairs: The perils of environmental journalism"Journalists covering environmental issues around the globe are at heightened risk of murder, arrest, assault, threats, self-exile, lawsuits, and harassment because environmental controversies often involve influential business and economic interests, political power battles, criminal activities, and corruption, plus politically, culturally, and economically sensitive issues concerning Indigenous rights to land and natural resources. This study uses in-depth interviews with journalists and other experts to explore such situations, including the psychological effects on these journalists’ sense of mission and professional practices. Interviewees generally did not seek therapy or counseling after their adverse experiences. Those experiences led some journalists to change their careers but strengthened the professional commitment that other journalists feel.Journal of Human Rights2020.Quasi-experimental researchOther journalOtherAdultOccupational health of journalists (negative consequences of reporting trauma)Posttraumatic stress symptoms (subthreshold)NANANAAdd
Verlumun Celestine Gever and Felix Olajide Talabi, Joshua Kayode Okunade, Ayodeji Boluwatife Aiyesimoju, Bernice Sanusi, Samson Adedapo Bello, and Oberiri Destiny Apuke"Impact of Job Risks on Job Performance and Propensity to Quit Journalism Among Television Camerapersons Covering Conflicts in Nigeria"This study examined the impact of job risks on job performance and the propensity to quit journalism among 576 TV camerapersons covering insecurity in Nigeria. The result of the study showed a significant main effect of job risks on job performance, F(2,548) = 241.016, p = .001, eta squared, ?p2 = .468. Also, career longevity significantly affects the relationship between job risks and performance,
F (1,548) = 28.372, p = .001. Despite attaining statistical significance, the degree of the relationship was low, ? p 2 = .049. A significant statistical relationship exists between job risks and the propensity to quit journalism among TV camerapersons. A further breakdown of the result showed that the more educated, the more propensity to quit journalism and vice versa. Finally, expected rewards such as career advancement, finance, commendations, and passion for journalism are why TV camerapersons have continued to cover security issues despite the known risks involved.Electronic NewsVol. 172023p. 76-92.Quasi-experimental researchOtherWarAdultOccupational health of journalists (negative consequences of reporting trauma)NATelevisionNANANAAdd
Verlumun Celestine Gever and Felix Olajide Talabi, Ayodeji Boluwatife Aiyesimoju, Samson Adedapo Bello, Prosper Nunayon Zannu, Joshua Kayode Okunade & Peter Nwokolo "Modelling the impact of safety threats on professional journalistic reporting of protests by Indigenous People of Biafra among Nigerian journalists"The Journal of International Communication2023.Quasi-experimental researchGeneral communication journalWarAdultOccupational health of journalists (negative consequences of reporting trauma)NANANANAAdd
Gretchen Hoak"Unprecedented Times in Journalism: Emotional Stress and Covering the COVID-19 Pandemic"This study explored emotional distress and organizational support in the context of covering the COVID-19 pandemic. A survey of 222 local journalists in the US revealed covering the story was both stressful and emotionally difficult. Females and those who were younger and less experienced perceived higher levels of stress and felt the story was more emotionally difficult than their counterparts. Females also felt their supervisors were less emotionally supportive and less supportive of their attempts to balance home and work. Supervisor support of home/work
balance was associated with less overall emotional stress from the story. The repetitive nature of the coverage, interacting with victims, and public backlash for their reporting were among the top stressors. Nearly 60% of participants indicated they receive no stress management resources from their news organizations. Of those that did, most did not take advantage. Implications for organizational support and journalism and trauma research are discussed.Journalism StudiesVol. 242023p. 367-364.Quasi-experimental researchJournalism specific journalAdultOccupational health of journalists (negative consequences of reporting trauma)Posttraumatic stress symptoms (subthreshold)NANANAAdd
Sadia Jamil and Sadia Jamil"Reporting under fear and threats: The deadly cost of being a journalist in Pakistan and India"The journalists’ right to perform their watchdog role and to do their routine jobs without fear of being killed, kidnapped, harassed, and attacked is a topic of utmost importance for freedom of the media and freedom of expression. However, in the past decade, journalists’ killings across the globe indicate that journalism is no more a safe profession. Noticeably, the Asia-Pacific region is the third worst violator of media freedom in the world. While the level of media freedom and journalists’ safety is not better in the Middle East and the North African regions, the Asia-Pacific region stands out because it is home to the two
of the top ten worst countries for journalists’ killings over the past 25 years, namely: Pakistan and India. Therefore, drawing on the system theory, this study aims to investigate the journalists’ lived experiences of diverse safety risks in Pakistan and India. To accomplish this aim, this study uses the qualitative methods of document reviews and in-depth interviews. Besides, this study uses thematic analysis to analyse the gathered data. The analyses of journalists’ lived experiences of safety risks reveal a stark systemic failure to protect them and safeguard their right to freedom of expression in these two countries.Journal of Russian Media and Journalism Studies2021.Quasi-experimental researchJournalism specific journalOtherAdultOccupational health of journalists (negative consequences of reporting trauma)Posttraumatic stress symptoms (subthreshold)NANANAAdd
Sadia Jamil"Culture of impunity and safety of journalists: Is safe journalism a distant dream in Pakistan?"Pakistan’s journalists confront fatal safety risks in the line of their duty and are at the mercy of various types of pressure and extremist groups that threaten, kidnap and even murder them with almost total impunity. Despite the growing violence against journalists in Pakistan, there is a dearth of national academic studies that offer insights into threats to journalists’ safety and the country’s rampant culture of impunity. Therefore, using the system theory, this study explores Pakistan’s issues of impunity and threats to journalists’ safety in conflict and non-conflict situations. The study also analyses the country’s laws for the protection of journalists’ rights to freedom of expression, access to information, online and offline safety, fair trial and equal pay-scales. In addition, the study unpacks the journalists’ lived experiences of safety risks in Pakistan and their perceptions regarding the country’s culture of impunity. To achieve these objectives, this study uses the qualitative methods of document review and indepth interviews (face-to-face). Moreover, the study uses thematic analysis to analyse the gathered data.World of Media2019.Quasi-experimental researchJournalism specific journalNon-specific/generalAdultOccupational health of journalists (negative consequences of reporting trauma)Posttraumatic stress symptoms (subthreshold)NANANAAdd
Caitlin Knight"Emotionality and Professionalism: Exploring the Management of Emotions by Journalists Reporting on Genocide"The dynamic nature of reporting requires journalists to interrogate their emotions as well as their sense of professionalism. This article focuses on the complex relationship between emotionality and professionalism mediated by journalists who reported on cases of genocide.
This extraordinary conflict situation provides a unique lens from which to explore the personal and professional resolve of journalists. Utilising interviews with UK journalists that reported on genocides in Rwanda and Srebrenica, this article develops a framework which characterizes journalistic emotional labour as distinct, multi-faceted, and somewhat contradictory. While participants described reporting as a focused, professional process in which emotions were silenced, the instinctual element and residual emotional toll associated with reporting on genocide demonstrates emotionality was not entirely absent. This article therefore provides a future template from which to explore emotional labour as part of a transformative relationship between journalists’ emotionality and professionalism.SociologyVol. 002019p. 1-17.Quasi-experimental researchOther journalMass violenceAdultOccupational health of journalists (negative consequences of reporting trauma)Posttraumatic stress symptoms (subthreshold)NANANAAdd
Johana Kotisova"The elephant in the newsroom: Current research on journalism and emotion"The article seeks to review current work on the obvious but complex entanglement of journalism and emotion. The field has been under?theorized and under?researched; however, in recent years, the body of studies that attempt to grasp the relationship between journalism, journalists, media content, and emotion is growing. The paper roughly systematizes the literature on journalism and emotion based on the Goffmanian distinction between front region and back region; that is, I consider both research on emotionality of the public outcomes of journalists' work marked by journalists' professional ideology and less visible journalists' emotional labour that is behind media content. Based on the review of the body of research and on a sociological conceptualization of emotions, I identify several blind spots. Most importantly, what is still largely missing from the emergent work is research that complies with the social character of journalists' emotions: acknowledges emotions as a force central to the contemporary networked, dynamic and increasingly precarious journalism work, and conceptualizes emotions in journalism as a sociologically relevant
phenomenon articulated by the context including newswork, technologies, and media organizations.Wiley2019.Meta-AnalysisOther journalNANAOccupational health of journalists (negative consequences of reporting trauma)Posttraumatic stress symptoms (subthreshold)NANANAAdd
Na Yeon Lee and Ahran Park"How online harassment affects Korean journalists? The effects of online harassment on the journalists’ psychological problems and their intention to leave the profession"This study examined the effects of online harassment on journalists’ psychological trauma and their intention to leave work. It also investigated whether journalists’ psychological trauma mediates the effects of online harassment on their intention to leave the profession and whether gender makes a difference in that relationship. An online survey of 404 South Korean journalists provided three categories of online harassment that journalists experience: (1) aggressive and abusive expression, (2) disclosure of private information, and (3)cyberstalking and hacking. The findings of this study show that aggressive and abusive expression was the most frequent type of online harassment whereas cyberstalking and hacking was the least frequent. As expected, online harassment was found to be positively associated with journalists’ psychological trauma (PTSD symptoms) and intention to leave work. The results further indicate that journalists’ psychological trauma originating from online harassment frequently resulted in an intention to leave work. Interestingly, journalists’ psychological trauma was a significant mediator in the relationship between psychological trauma levels and intention to leave work for female journalists, but not for male journalists.Journalism2023.Quasi-experimental researchJournalism specific journalOtherAdultOccupational health of journalists (negative consequences of reporting trauma)PTSDNANANAAdd
Kaitlin C Miller and Samantha Kocan"Taking to the streets: The effects of in-the-field harassment against journalists covering protests"Since 2017, 518 journalists have been attacked while covering protests (U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, 2021) which is one of the most dangerous places to be as a journalist in the United States (Sterne & Peters, 2017). Despite the volatile climate around journalists as they cover increasingly dangerous protests (Luqiu, 2020),there is minimal understanding as to the effect of these events on them (Talabi, et al., 2021). Furthermore, there is a gap in the hostility literature examining harassment that journalists face in the field. Through a survey of U.S. journalists, this study finds that covering protests causes journalists mental and emotional health concerns, which influences how they view their journalistic roles. Furthermore, the effects of positive and negative encounters at protests affected journalists personally, depending on who the perpetrator was (protestor or law enforcement)—influencing everything from PTSD and anxiety to intentions to leave journalism. The paper ultimately underscores the need for news organizations to make sure journalists not only are safe, but also feel safe, when reporting in the field.Journalism2022.Quasi-experimental researchJournalism specific journalOtherAdultOccupational health of journalists (negative consequences of reporting trauma)Posttraumatic stress symptoms (subthreshold)NAAdvice on training journalistsNAAdd
Benjamin Muindi"Psychological and Physical Lived Experiences of Journalists Covering Terrorism in Kenya"This research is based on 28 in-depth interviews with Kenya-based journalists who report terrorism. The objective of the research was to recount their lived experiences. The theme of safety of journalists comprised psychological and physical safety of the newspeople, and there were various ways in which the psychological and individual safety of the journalists covering terrorism and related events was at risk. The psychological safety included traumatic events leading to sleeplessness and nightmares, loss of memory, and some journal resorting to alcohol abuse in a bid to cope with the traumatic experiences. These physical safety concerns for some journalists included threats of death by fanatical religious groups, while other participants said that they were threatened with death because of their coverage of terrorism and related activities in Kenya.Journalism & Mass Communication EducatorVol. 782023p. 251-266.Quasi-experimental researchJournalism specific journalTerrorismAdultOccupational health of journalists (negative consequences of reporting trauma)Posttraumatic stress symptoms (subthreshold)NANANAAdd
Joan Mutua and , Hellen K. Mberia and Prof. David Minja"Effectiveness of Engaging Experts in Helping Journalist in Kenya to Deal With Trauma"Purpose: The objective of this study was to examine the effectiveness of engaging experts in helping journalists in Kenya to deal with trauma.
Methodology: The study used both qualitative and quantitative methods of collecting data. This included the uses of questionnaires and interviews. The collected data was edited, coded and analyzed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS). The data was presented using both qualitative and quantitative statistics.
Findings: The results of the study revealed that engaging experts had a significant relationship with effective trauma management.
Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The study recommends that journalists should engage spiritual leaders to help them to deal with traumatic experiences. In addition, journalists should also engage counselors to help them to deal with traumatic experiences.International Journal of Communication and Public RelationVol. 72022p. 1-12.Quasi-experimental researchGeneral communication journalNon-specific/generalAdultOccupational health of journalists (negative consequences of reporting trauma)Posttraumatic stress symptoms (subthreshold)Tips for coping with traumaNAAdd
Jonas Osmann and Abdul Mujeeb Khalvatgar and Anthony Feinstein"Psychological distress in Afghan journalists: a descriptive study"Purpose – Afghanistan is one of the world’s most dangerous places for journalists. There are, however, no data on the mental health of Afghan journalists covering conflict in their country. The study aims to determine the degree to which Afghan journalists are exposed to traumatic events, their perceptions of organizational support, their rates of symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression, their utilization of mental health services and the effectiveness of the treatment received.
Design/methodology/approach – The entire study was undertaken in Dari (Farsi). Five major Afghan news organizations representing 104 journalists took part of whom 71 (68%) completed a simple eleven point analog scale rating perceptions of organizational support. Symptoms of PTSD and depression were recorded with the Impact of Event Scale – Revised (IES-R) and the Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), respectively. Behavioral comparisons were undertaken between those journalists who had and had not received mental health therapy.
Findings – The majority of journalists exceeded cutoff scores for PTSD and major depression and reported high rates for exposure to traumatic events. There were no significant differences in IES-R and CES-D scores between journalists who had and had not received mental health therapy. Most journalists did not view their employers as supportive.
Originality/value – To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to collect empirical data on the mental health of Afghan journalists. The results highlight the extreme stressors confronted by them, their correspondingly high levels of psychopathology and the relative ineffectiveness of mental health therapy given to a minority of those in distress. The implications of these findings are discussed.JOURNAL OF AGGRESSION, CONFLICT AND PEACE RESEARCHVol. 122020p. 115-124.Quasi-experimental researchOther journalNon-specific/generalAdultOccupational health of journalists (negative consequences of reporting trauma)PTSDNANANAAdd
Lambrini Papadopoulou and Lambrini Papadopoulou"Affective Labour and Perceptions of Trauma Journalism in Crisis-ridden Countries: A Qualitative Approach"The Emerald Handbook of Digital Media in Greece2020p. 179-193.Quasi-experimental researchOtherOtherAdultOccupational health of journalists (negative consequences of reporting trauma)PTSDNANANAAdd
Theodore G. Petersen and Shyla Soundararajan"Covering Pulse: Understanding the Lived Experience of Journalists Who Covered a Mass Shooting"When 49 people were gunned down in an Orlando nightclub in 2016, journalists from all over Central Florida went toward the nightclub, not away from it. This study explores the lived experience of 18 journalists who covered the Pulse nightclub shooting. Participants came from a variety of news outlets—print, television, and radio—and from a variety of positions—reporters, photographers, and editors. Participants described the chaotic environment and the ethical issues they faced. This paper sheds light on how journalists handle situations like the Pulse shooting and the need to monitor the mental health of those who were on the frontlines covering it.The Qualitative ReportVol. 252020p. 74-87.Quasi-experimental researchOther journalMass violenceAdultOccupational health of journalists (negative consequences of reporting trauma)PTSDTips for coping with traumaNANAAdd
K. Shilpa and A. Kumari, M. M. Das, Tanushree Sharma, and S. K. Biswal"Exploring Trauma Literacy Quotient Among Indian Journalists and a Way Forward in Post-Pandemic Era: A Case Study of India"The American Psychological Association defines trauma as “an emotional response to a terrible event..” Trauma can be experienced as a response to either physical or emotionally disturbing circumstances. The Journalism and the Pandemic Project from the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) and the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University, in their global survey of journalists, have studied the impact of the pandemic on journalists across the globe. The COVID-19
pandemic has caused varying degrees of disruptions in the personal and professional lives of journalists. Traumatic experiences like covering traumatic events up close, COVID-induced health issues, job loss, pay cuts, and insecurity at the workplace have consumed journalists like never before. Overwhelming emotions like shock, helplessness, loneliness, depression, and anxiety are some of the reactions observed by mental health experts. Indian journalists, too, like their counterparts across the globe, have had to take on the challenges posed by this unprecedented crisis. This article intends to study the impact of the pandemic on Indian journalists both from physical and emotional perspectives. The objectives of the study include—(a) to analyze the journalists’ response to traumatic experiences during the pandemic, (b) to study the nature of trauma experienced by journalists during the pandemic, (c)to analyze how traumatic experiences affected the journalists, and (d) to explore
and analyze how journalists managed to cope with the traumatic experiences. The study adopts social cognitive theory (SCT) as the framework. SCT comprises four goal realization processes: self-observation, self-evaluation, self-reaction, and self efficacy. The four components are interrelated, and all influence motivation and goal attainment. Social cognition includes diverse processes linking the perception of social information with a behavioral response, including perception, attention, decision making, memory, and emotion. The post-traumatic reactions include re-experiencing the traumatic event in flashbacks, recurrent nightmares, and intrusive memories, hypervigilant arousal, impaired concentration, depression, sleep disturbances, self devaluation, avoidance of reminders of traumatic experiences, emotional detachment from others, and disengagement from aspects of life that provide meaning and selffulfillment, which impair intrapersonal, interpersonal, and occupational functioning. The scope of the study covers the journalists’ responses to traumatic experiences
specific to the pandemic. The study adopts a mixed research method with a thematic analysis of the qualitative data from interviews of journalists followed by a factor analysis of the quantitative data from the survey of the journalists.Journalism & Mass Communication EducatorVol. 782023p. 267-288.Quasi-experimental researchJournalism specific journalOtherAdultOccupational health of journalists (negative consequences of reporting trauma)Posttraumatic stress symptoms (subthreshold)Tips for coping with traumaAdvice on training journalistsNAAdd
Kate Holland"Australian journalists’ views on news values, sources and reporting challenges"This study is based on interviews with Australian journalists about their experiences of reporting on mental health issues, including how they see their role and their views about characteristics of newsworthy stories and sources and reporting challenges. The analysis draws out the following themes: exposing problems with psychiatry and mental health care; highlighting gaps between rhetoric and reality; humanising case studies; putting vulnerable people at risk; and negotiating pushy and shy sources. The study draws upon the concept of biocommunicability to consider these themes in the context of biomedical authority, patient-consumer and public sphere orientations to reporting. Journalists tended to convey a public sphere orientation, but they also gave examples of how the concerns of sources and audiences could work against this. The study suggests that factors such as competition for funding within the mental health field and pressures within the media industry play an important role in shaping the models of biocommunicability found in mental health news and in the mediatised practices of actors within the mental health field. The article argues that a preoccupation with the potential harms of reporting could work to constrain journalism that challenges and moves beyond the privileging of biomedical authority and patientconsumer models.Journalism StudiesVol. 192018Routledgep. 1767-1785.Quasi-experimental researchJournalism specific journalOtherAdultOccupational health of journalists (negative consequences of reporting trauma)Posttraumatic stress symptoms (subthreshold)NANANAAdd
Jasmine B. MacDonald and Rachel Fox"Trauma Amongst TV News Crews: The Protective Function of Crew Solidarity"Past research indicates that journalists’ ongoing exposure to trauma can result in psychopathology. However, previous research has not considered whether trauma exposure and reactions differ depending on whether news workers are working individually or within a crew. The research question was as follows: What functional roles do crew relationships play in enhancing individual resilience? In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 TV news camera operators and reporters. The findings indicate that news workers emphasise the importance of the relationship amongst crewmembers in times of trauma exposure, as opposed to their own individual experiences. Working with other crewmembers simultaneously reduces physical and psychological risks and improves the quality of the journalistic product. Additionally, experienced news workers serve a vital mentoring function and also act to shield less experienced news workers from potentially stressful situations. Crew solidarity functions as a protective factor for news crewmembers exposed to trauma and other work-related stressors.Applied Psychology Readings2018Springerp. 21-38.Quasi-experimental researchGeneral psychology journalNon-specific/generalAdultOccupational health of journalists (negative consequences of reporting trauma)Posttraumatic stress symptoms (subthreshold)TelevisionTips for covering trauma generallyNANAAdd
Stephanie Anderson and Brian Bourke"Teaching Collegiate Journalists How to Cover Traumatic Events Using Moral Development Theory"The authors make the argument that trauma journalism should be taught as part of the postsecondary curriculum in journalism schools. As part of that education, students will learn that coping with the psychological effects of repeated exposure to such events can have long-term impacts on their mental health. As Kohlberg and Rest found, students in college are at a pivotal point in their moral development. Education takes place as adolescents are developing key psychological skills, including moral and ethical decision-making. Collegiate journalists should be gaining these valuable reasoning skills as it relates to covering traumatic events.Journalism & Mass Communication Educator2019p. 1-14.OtherJournalism specific journalNon-specific/generalNAOccupational health of journalists (negative consequences of reporting trauma)NATips for coping with traumaAdvice on training journalistsHow to teach students to cover traumaAdd
Marijana Markovikj and Eleonora Serafimovska"Mental Health Resilience in the Journalism Curriculum"Reporting on trauma is part of the journalists’ job, and it needs to be conducted with care for their mental health of the interviewees and audiences. Data from focus groups and online survey with journalism students in Macedonia identified that: reporting on traumatic events can affect mental health; education can be a factor for coping and
building resilience; educators lack adequate training; there are no adequate teaching materials in journalism courses at faculties; and at the end, students are not equipped with strategies and skills for dealing with trauma when reporting on trauma.Journalism & Mass Communication EducatorVol. 782023p. 233-250.Quasi-experimental researchJournalism specific journalNANAOccupational health of journalists (negative consequences of reporting trauma)NANANANAAdd