“Journalism and trauma” is a five-part series from Reporters Without Borders (RSF) exploring the impact of psychological trauma on journalists. It includes their work with trauma survivors, personal repercussions, and self-care strategies. This article examines some instances of trauma-inducing journalism work and how the industry addresses these situations.
Covering violence and other stress-inducing subjects is routinely required in journalism. Such exposure places journalists at high risk of psychological stress and trauma, issues often overlooked within the industry.
Psychological trauma ruled as work injury
In March 2019, the Victorian County Court in Australia mandated that the media group “The Age” compensate a former reporter, referred to as YZ (not their real name for privacy reasons), with 180,000 AUD for psychological trauma. This ruling was a significant recognition of a news organisation’s responsibility for the psychological trauma of its staff in the performance of their duties.
According to reports, YZ served as a crime and court reporter from 2003 to 2013, covering over 32 murders, which involved visiting crime scenes, delving into case details, and attending trials. This exposure, especially to graphic images of death and sexual violence, including those of child victims, led to frequent nightmares and intrusive thoughts during waking hours.
After being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), YZ requested a transfer but was briefly assigned to sports coverage before being returned to the crime beat. Subsequently, she was informed she should resign if unwilling to cover crime, leading to her resignation from the newspaper.
The toll of a prolonged reporting of violent events
A reporter in Hong Kong who was in charge of covering the mass protests in 2019, would interview sources daily from dawn till dusk and then write up his reports late into the night, with little time to rest.
During one assignment near protester-police clashes, he saw officers discharge tear gas at close range and witnessed injuries firsthand. These experiences haunted him with recurring vivid dreams of the police’s tear gas gun very close to his eyes and the loud “bang” of it firing.
“After more than a year, the agency has paid more attention to trauma, but basically barely no-one talks about personal experiences of trauma, the only topic touched upon is possible arrests. We have groups to report each other’s safety,” said a reporter leading an investigative project.
“After all, as journalists, we feel that we should have the resilience to face various situations. But in fact, sometimes the impact of stress goes far beyond our own imagination.”
Journalists as first responders
“At the time of a disaster, journalists often tell us where to go and how to keep safe, help rescue personnel organise rescue efforts, and help victims escape and be rescued,” said Elana Newman, an expert at the US-based Columbia DART Centre, founded in 1999 to research journalism and trauma.
“In another aspect, journalism is a profession where one often directly faces conflict, violence, disaster, and danger,” Newman said. “The accumulated emotions of shock, sadness, fear, anger, etc., have the potential to wear journalists down.” To provide guidance on how to react, DART Centre further published a Handbook on journalism and trauma, which has been translated into Chinese by RSF.
About the authors:
- Chine Chan, BS in Psychology, MS in Behavioral Health. After working as a journalist, she engaged in human rights and development work.
- Ansel Lam, Master of Behavioral Health, Certified Executive Coach. He deals with overall health, and engages in human rights and training work.
→ Read Part 2: Navigating psychological challenges
→ Read Part 3: Self-care for journalists
→ Read Part 4: Collective trauma reshaping identities
→ Read Part 5: Interviewing survivors of traumatic events
