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Place, Nic"Journalists and trauma: The need for counseling"Australian Studies in JournalismVol. 11992p. 113-158.OtherJournalism specific journalNon-specific/generalAdultOccupational health of journalists (negative consequences of reporting trauma)PTSDTips for coping with traumaNANAAdd
Waisbord, Silvio"Antipress Violence and the Crisis of the State"Although it is an issue of immediate interest to reporters and press organizations,
antipress violence has not elicited a great deal of scholarly attention.While in the context
of developed democracies,studies have concluded that violence against the press
has significantly diminished in the twentieth century,the situation is markedly different
elsewhere. This gap is not surprising considering that the literature on press and
democracy has been largely produced in the West and has largely reflected the
absence of antipress violence in Western nations. The persistence of attacks against
journalists outside the West, however,makes it necessary to put it at the center to
analyze the situation of journalistic labor and the prospects for the press in historically
weak democracies. This article analyzes antipress violence by focusing on the Latin
American case.The argument is that in postauthoritarian situations,the breakdown of
the state accounts for why the press, particularly investigative reporters and publications,
is the target of violence. Antipress violence reflects the impossibility of the
state’s fulfilling its mission to monopolize the legitimate use of violence and the lack of
accountability of those responsible for the attacks. Because it is a central arena in the
battle for public expression, the press becomes a prominent target when naked violence
replaces the rule of law.The fate of the press is intrinsically linked to the fate of
the democratic state. There cannot be a democratic press as long as the state does
not secure minimal institutional conditions that democracy demands.Press/PoliticsVol. 72002p. 90-109.OtherOther journalNonsexual crimeNAOccupational health of journalists (negative consequences of reporting trauma)NANANANAAdd
Flatow, Gail"Sexual harassment in Indiana daily newspapers"Sixty-eight percent of women in newsrooms reported
sexual harassment, with verbal harassment far and
away the most common problem.Newspaper Research JournalVol. 151994p. 32-45.Quasi-experimental researchJournalism specific journalSexual violenceOtherAdultOccupational health of journalists (negative consequences of reporting trauma)OtherPrintNANANAAdd
Feinstein, Anthony and John Owen; Nancy Blair"A Hazardous Profession: War, Journalists, and Psychopathology"Objective: War journalists often confront
situations of extreme danger in their
work. Despite this, information on their
psychological well-being is lacking.
Method: The authors used self-report
questionnaires to assess 140 war journalists,
who recorded symptoms of posttraumatic
stress disorder (PTSD) (with the Impact
of Event Scale—Revised), depression
(with the Beck Depression Inventory-II),
and psychological distress (with the 28-
item General Health Questionnaire). To
control for stresses generic to all journalism,
the authors used the same instruments
to assess 107 journalists who had
never covered war. A second phase of the
study involved interviews with one in five
journalists from both groups, using the
Structured Clinical Interview for Axis I
DSM-IV Disorders.
Results: The rates of response to the selfreport
questionnaires were approximately
80% for both groups. There were no demographic
differences between groups. Both
male and female war journalists had significantly
higher weekly alcohol consumption.
The war journalists had higher scores
on the Impact of Event Scale and the Beck
Depression Inventory. Their lifetime prevalence
of PTSD was 28.6%, and the rates
were 21.4% for major depression and
14.3% for substance abuse. War journalists
were not, however, more likely to receive
treatment for these disorders.
Conclusions: War journalists have significantly
more psychiatric difficulties than
journalists who do not report on war. In
particular, the lifetime prevalence of PTSD
is similar to rates reported for combat veterans,
while the rate of major depression
exceeds that of the general population.
These results, which need replicating,
should alert news organizations that significant
psychological distress may occur
in many war journalists and often goes
untreated.American Journal of Psychiatry Vol. 1592002p. 1570-1575.Quasi-experimental researchGeneral psychology journalWarAdultOccupational health of journalists (negative consequences of reporting trauma)PTSDDepressionNANANAAdd
Feinstein, Anthony and Saul Feinstein; Maziar Behari; Bennis Pavisian"The psychological wellbeing of Iranian journalists: a descriptive study"Objective: Iran ranks 173 out of 180 countries on an index
of press freedom. The purpose of the study was to assess
the psychological wellbeing of Iranian journalists and document
the stressors encountered in their work.
Design: A secure website was established and participants
were given their unique identifying number and password
to access the site.
Setting: Newsrooms in Iran and the diaspora.
Participants: Responses were received from 114 journalists
(76%) of whom 65.8% were living in the diaspora. The
mean age was 37.8 years (SD¼7.30) and 57% male.
Main outcomes measures: Type of stressor and behavioural
data: Impact of Event Scale-revised for posttraumatic
stress disorder, Beck Depression Inventory-II for
depression.
Results: Stressors include arrest (41.2%), torture (19.3%),
assault (10.5%), intimidation (51.4%) and family threatened
(43.1%). Eighty nine (78.1%) journalists had stopped working
on a story because of intimidation. Arrest, torture,
intimidation and family threatened were associated with
more intrusive and arousal PTSD symptoms (p<.01 to
.001) and assault and intimidation with more depressive
symptoms (p<.05). Almost a third of Iranian journalists
regularly used barbiturates, with use correlating with symptoms
of intrusion (p<.0001), avoidance (p<.01), arousal
(p<.0001) and depression (p<.0001). 46.5% of Iranian
journalists were not receiving therapy for their distress.
Conclusions: The findings, the first of their kind, provide
data highlighting the extraordinary degree of danger confronted
by Iranian journalists, their emotional distress in
response to this and their proclivity to self-medicate with
barbiturates.The Royal Society of MedicineVol. 72016p. 1-5.Quasi-experimental researchGeneral psychology journalNon-specific/generalAdultOccupational health of journalists (negative consequences of reporting trauma)PTSDNANANAAdd
Al-Rawi, Ahmed Khalid"Iraqi women journalists’ challenges and predicaments"This article aims at reviewing the condition of Iraqi female journalists specifically
after the US invasion in 2003 by using different Arabic and English sources. The
study argues that female Iraqi journalists enjoyed new freedoms of speech and got
new opportunities to improve professionally after 2003, but many of them were
harmed because of the spread of lawlessness, and thus they were mostly drawn
to their sect or ethnic group as a protective measure to secure them from outside
threats. After the US invasion, some journalists who wanted to cover the events in
a balanced manner were threatened, kidnapped or assassinated by armed groups,
militias and political parties. This fact has further enhanced the polarization of these
journalists. Iraq has become known as the worst place for journalists to live and
work; thus, it is not surprising that the circumstances Iraqi female journalists go
through are probably some of the worst in the world.Journal of Arab & Muslim Media ResearchVol. 32010p. 223-236.Theoretical (no quasi/experimental data included)General communication journalNonsexual crimeNAOccupational health of journalists (negative consequences of reporting trauma)OtherNANANAAdd
Backholm, Klas and Trond Idas"Ethical Dilemmas,Work-Related Guilt, and Posttraumatic Stress Reactions of News Journalists Covering the Terror Attack in Norway in 2011"News journalists working on crisis-related assignments may experience dilemmas with regard to how to conduct their work without causing
additional harm to first-hand victims. In this study, we investigated how exposure to journalistic ethical dilemmas during the Oslo/Utøya
terror attack in 2011 and subsequent work-related guilt were related to the development of posttraumatic stress (PTS) reactions. Norwegian
journalists (N = 371) covering the terror attack participated in a web-based survey 8–9 months after the incident. We found that females
reported more ethical dilemmas during the assignment than males (n = 356, d = 0.51). We also found that being on the scene was not
related to more exposure to dilemmas (n = 311, d = 0.01). Moreover, we discovered that work-related guilt had a significant indirect effect
on the relationship between exposure to ethical dilemmas and severity of PTS reactions (n = 344, completely standardized indirect effect
size = .11, 95% CI [.04, .19]. The results showed that exposure to ethical dilemmas may affect the development of long-term psychological
impairment. We concluded that media organizations can prevent postcrisis impairment by preparing employees for possible exposure to
dilemmas during crisis-related assignments.Journal of Traumatic StressVol. 282015ISTSSp. 142-148.Quasi-experimental researchTrauma specific journalTerrorismAdultOccupational health of journalists (negative consequences of reporting trauma)OtherPTSDNANANAAdd
Ananthan, Amb Gowri"Trauma Counseling for Journalists: A Profession in Denial"Research suggests, between eighty to ninety percentage of journalists have been
exposed to a work-related traumatic events such as murder, mass casualties, war and
natural disasters. Most journalists exhibit resilience despite repeated exposure to such
traumatic events. However, a significant minority are at risk for long-term psychological
problems, including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, and substance
abuse. Unsurprisingly, the greater the exposure to violence, suffering and death, in
particular involving children, the more likely people are to break down. And those are the
situations exactly what many journalists have to deal with as part of their job.
Due to the thirty years of war in Sri Lanka, many journalists suffer PTSD as they witnessed
many horrible events involving death, violence, bomb attacks and human suffering. Even
though the war has ended eight years ago, trauma is still there in many minds and many
of the younger journalists are more likely to report occupational dysfunction due to PTSD.
Currently, the situation in Sri Lanka, where decades of conflict may have inured journalists
to an appreciation of the horror around them. So they claim that No support was therefore
required for them. This Paper will analyze what impact such traumatic situations made on
journalists and the methods and trainings in order to better prepare fresher journalists to
face such traumatic events well in advance.Media AsiaVol. 442017p. 17-20.Theoretical (no quasi/experimental data included)General communication journalWarNAOccupational health of journalists (negative consequences of reporting trauma)Training of journalistsPTSDNAAdvice on training journalistsNAAdd
Freedman, Eric"Journalism after jail: coping with the trauma of imprisonment"journalists continue to face imprisonment for practicing their profession
in ways that antagonize regimes, militaries, oligarchs, and other
powerful interests. What do journalists do after their release from
prison? Do they resume their professional work in their home country
or in exile? How do they cope psychologically? And how does the prison
experience reshape their approach to journalism and views on the journalistic
mission?
To help answer those questions, I interviewed eight journalists
who’d been jailed for periods of two weeks to more than two years by
some of the world’s most repressitarian regimes—Azerbaijan, Cameroon,
Ethiopia, Eritrea, Iran, the Soviet Union, and Syria. Each journalist has a
unique tale to tell, but common threads emerge from their interviews.Media AsiaVol. 442017Routledge p. 21-24.Quasi-experimental researchGeneral communication journaltorture/human rightsAdultOccupational health of journalists (negative consequences of reporting trauma)Posttraumatic stress symptoms (subthreshold)OtherNANANAAdd
Hughes, Sallie and MIREYA MÁRQUEZ-RAMÍREZ"Examining the Practices That Mexican Journalists Employ to Reduce Risk in a Context of Violence"Research on journalists working in contexts of risk has examined either war
correspondents on temporary assignments or the psychological effects of covering
traumatic events, usually after the events have ended. Although these studies are
important, they fail to account for the growing importance of ongoing violence in
insecure democracies and its possible consequences for national journalistic practice. We
address these issues by examining journalists’ risk-reduction practices in Mexico,
including self-censorship, following company censorship policies, curtailing street
reporting, and concealing sensitive information. Using logistic regressions, we tested
occupational, organizational, normative, and contextual conditions as predictors of
engagement in these practices. Findings reveal the pervasiveness of risk-reduction
practices in Mexico and the complexity of conditions prompting their use, including
conditions related to antipress violence, dangerous newsbeats, and the economic
insecurity of media firms but also voicing greater support for assertive professional
norms. The research sets a baseline for future comparative research that includes
greater attention to subnational conditions, dangerous newsbeats, and how violence and
uneven state capacity may undermine the economic conditions of media firms.International Journal of CommunicationVol. 112017p. 499-521.Quasi-experimental researchGeneral communication journalMass violenceAdultOccupational health of journalists (negative consequences of reporting trauma)Barriers to reporting on traumaOtherPosttraumatic stress symptoms (subthreshold)OtherNANANAAdd
Patrice A. Keats and Marla J. Buchanan"Covering Trauma in Canadian Journalism: Exploring the Challenges"This critical ethnographic study is an investigation of the effects of witnessing trauma for Canadian journalists and
photojournalists working on national and international assignments. Our primary aim is to describe our participants’
understanding of the effects of covering trauma, disaster, or conflict within a journalism culture. Our findings are derived from
in-depth interviews and workplace observations with journalists across Canada. Of specific note are the tensions that exist
between the journalists’ beliefs about appropriate practices within the culture of journalism and their personal experiences
in the field. These tensions may exacerbate negative effects of witnessing human violence and suffering. Articulating and
exploring these tensions may contribute to our understanding of the use and type of support needed and desired by news
workers both in and out of the newsroom.TraumatologyVol. 192012Sage Publicationsp. 210-222.Quasi-experimental researchTrauma specific journalNon-specific/generalAdultOccupational health of journalists (negative consequences of reporting trauma)Training of journalistsPosttraumatic stress symptoms (subthreshold)OtherNANANAAdd
Maniaty, Tony"War reporting, intemational humanitarian law and the legacy of Balibo"Organisations like the Intemational News Safety Institute (INSI), formed
in 2001 and based in Brussels, have created an impressive global network
to help news workers facing danger on assignment; as well, big networks
such as the BBC, CNN and the ABC have adopted measures including
battlefield security courses, protective gear, first-aid training, and carefullyrehearsed
exit strategies. Despite all this, reporters are still being targeted,
and too many governments are still ignoring, and even giving support to,
the killing of joumalists.PACIFIC JOURNALISM REVIEWVol. 162010.OtherJournalism specific journalWarNAOccupational health of journalists (negative consequences of reporting trauma)Training of journalistsPosttraumatic stress symptoms (subthreshold)OtherTelevisionNANANAAdd
Markham, Tim"The political phenomenology of war reporting"Drawing on interviews with war correspondents, editors and political and military
personnel, this article investigates the political dimension of the structuration and
structuring effects of the reporter’s experience of journalism. Self-reflection and
judgements about colleagues confirm that there are dominant norms for interpreting
and acting in conflict scenarios which, while contingent upon socio-historical context,
are interpreted as natural. But the prevalence of such codes masks the systematically
misrecognized symbolic systems of mystification and ambivalence – systems which
reproduce hierarchies and gatekeeping structures in the field, but which are either
experienced as unremarkable, dismissed with irony and cynicism, or not present to
the consciousness of the war correspondent. The article builds on recent theories
of journalistic disposition, ideology, discourse and professionalism, and describes the
political dimension of journalistic practice perceived in the field as apolitical. It addresses
the gendering of war correspondence, the rise of the journalist as moral authority,
and questions the extent to which respondent reflections can be defensibly analytically
determined.JournalismVol. 122011Sage Publicationsp. 567-585.Quasi-experimental researchJournalism specific journalWarAdultOccupational health of journalists (negative consequences of reporting trauma)OtherPosttraumatic stress symptoms (subthreshold)OtherNANANAAdd
Masduki"Assessing Indonesian journalist threats: cases, actors and motives"Media AsiaVol. 442017Routledge p. 25-32.OtherGeneral communication journalNon-specific/generalNAOccupational health of journalists (negative consequences of reporting trauma)OtherNANANAAdd
McMahon, Cait"Building resilience in the war zone against hidden injury"Psychological impacts of covering trauma such as war, or indeed any
disaster with loss of life and tragedy, have the capacity to challenge the
media professional to develop professional and personal skills. 'Lessons
learned' from experience will enhance capacity considerably; however
there are also the potential negative effects that can cause harm to some.
These effects are rarely spoken about in the newsroom, nor are they generally
included in any useable detail when journalists undergo hazardous
environment training.PACIFIC JOURNALISM REVIEWVol. 162010.OtherJournalism specific journalWarMass disasterNAOccupational health of journalists (negative consequences of reporting trauma)PTSDTips for coping with traumaNANAAdd
MIN WANG and ZUOSU JIANG"Greater Work-Related Stress Among Chinese Media Workers in the Context of Media Transformation: Specific Stressors and Coping Strategies"A steady rise in unexpected deaths of Chinese media workers from 2011 to 2015
highlights a new social problem. Content analysis of official reports about these deaths
reveals the contribution of work-related stress and media transformation. Moreover,
surveys and in-depth interviews with 147 Chinese media workers demonstrate that 11
factors related to the current media transformation may magnify work-related stress.
These factors stem from characteristics of media transformation, such as the crisis in
journalism, the expansion of information and communication technologies, ideological
control, and the reorganization of management. This article focuses on newly emerging
and Chinese-specific stressors, revealing how media transformation increases stress and
causes anxiety. In addition, the article suggests specific coping strategies in the Chinese
context.International Journal of CommunicationVol. 102016p. 6103-6125.Content AnalysisQuasi-experimental researchGeneral communication journalNon-specific/generalAdultOccupational health of journalists (negative consequences of reporting trauma)Posttraumatic stress symptoms (subthreshold)OtherNANANAAdd
Trond Idås"Trauma in the newsroom: social support, posttraumatic stress and post-traumatic growth among journalists working with terror"Background: Journalists who cover traumatic events are at risk of developing long-term
impairment, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The exposure may also result in
perceived positive outcomes, conceptualised as post-traumatic growth (PTG). Social support
(SS) at work is one factor that might affect the outcome.
Objective: To investigate the relationship between three subtypes of workplace SS (perceived
support, received support, received recognition), and post-traumatic stress symptoms
(PTSS) and between SS and PTG in journalists who have covered a large terror attack.
Furthermore, to examine the relationship between ethical dilemmas (ED) experienced while
covering the incident, PTSS and PTG.
Method: The study was performed as a web-based survey sent out eight to nine months
after the incident to Norwegian journalists (N = 375) who covered the terror attack in
Norway in 2011.
Results: Journalists who received more support also reported a higher level of PTSS
(r = .168, p = .044). Recognition and perceived support showed no significant association
with PTSS. Journalists who received more recognition also experienced more PTG (r = .542,
p < .001). Neither perceived nor received support were significantly associated with PTG.
More ED was positively associated with both PTSS (r = .469, p < .001) and PTG (r = .402,
p < .001).
Conclusions: Journalists with more PTSS may have participated more in organised support
such as debriefing activities in the aftermath of the coverage. Some journalists may have
experienced stress related to a fear of causing additional harm to first-hand victims (ED).
Others may have experienced PTG related to reflections and discussions about their ED in
the aftermath of a coverage. Media companies may promote PTG among their journalists by
developing a culture for recognition of employees’ contributions during demanding
missions.K. Backholm & J. KorhonenVol. 102016Taylor & Francis.Quasi-experimental researchGeneral psychology journalTerrorismAdultOccupational health of journalists (negative consequences of reporting trauma)PTSDTips for coping with traumaNANAAdd
Brummel, Bradley and Elana Newman, Bret Arnold, and Autumn Slaughter"Sexual harassment and sexual assault training needs analysis for journalists"We agree with Medeiros and Griffith (2019) about the importance of understanding the specific
training needs of a target audience for sexual harassment and sexual assault training. As we have
been conducting research and providing resources on these topics with journalists, we have discovered a number of unique aspects of this profession that influence the design of training to
promote transfer. Much of our work has been facilitated by the Dart Center for Journalism
and Trauma (www.dartcenter.org), which works on issues related to the ethical coverage of reporting on violence and tragedy, including the safety and occupational health of journalists who cover
trauma. Increasingly this work has involved sexual harassment and sexual assault. This commentary provides a summary of some of the critical elements we discovered about journalists that
could contribute to a needs analysis for the profession. Additionally, we believe that this information and the topics could be useful for people examining the needs of other unique professions.
Finally, our approach to collecting and summarizing research findings in forms accessible to the
general public and training professionals also may be a useful model to facilitate the development
of trainings based on information about the target populations.
Industrial and Organizational PsychologyVol. 122019p. 115-118.OtherGeneral psychology journalSexual violenceNAOccupational health of journalists (negative consequences of reporting trauma)Posttraumatic stress symptoms (subthreshold)OtherNANANAAdd
Guy Berger"New Opportunities in Monitoring Safety of Journalists through the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda"This article highlights the potential for increased and more standardised monitoring of a range of aspects of the safety of
journalists. This is in the light of a specific indicator that has been agreed by the UN as part of the Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs). The indicator concerned treats the safety of journalists as a benchmark for tracking progress on SDG target
16.10, which specifies “public access to information and fundamental freedoms” (UN Department of Economic and
Social Affairs, n.d.), as a development aspiration. Inclusion of this indicator in the SDGs provides a universally legitimated
framework with strong catalytic potential. All this holds a promise of improved, more comparative, and increased research
output, as compared to the previous situation. The results of new research stimulated by this development, particularly
at country level, could have real impact on the safety of journalists.Media and CommunicationVol. 82020p. 78-88.OtherGeneral communication journalNon-specific/generalNAOccupational health of journalists (negative consequences of reporting trauma)OtherNANANANAAdd
Nicole Smith Dahmen and Jesse Abdenour & Karen McIntyre"Journalists’ Perceptions of Mass Shooting Coverage and Factors Influencing Those Perceptions"Journalism PracticeVol. 132019p. 895-900.Quasi-experimental researchJournalism specific journalMass violenceAdultOccupational health of journalists (negative consequences of reporting trauma)OtherNAPrintNANANAAdd