In his 30-year career as a journalist, Manny Garcia has witnessed executions, covered murders, and once accidentally walked in to a crime scene, finding a dead person at the bottom of a pool.

While working on a story with a photographer, he came face-to-face with a drug dealer who pointed a gun at them and asked them why he shouldn’t kill them.

“Needless to say, we got out of it, but at no point, telling this to my editors, did anybody say, ‘Are you OK, Manny? Do you need to talk to somebody? No. In fact, it was like, ‘Well, you’re here. Work on the story,” Garcia, executive editor for the Austin American-Statesman, recalled during a panel about leading a newsroom during times of crisis at the 2023 Investigative Reporters and Editors conference in Orlando.

In 2020, with encouragement from his wife, he sought therapy and was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

“I’ve been open about this, because you not ever suffer in silence,” Garcia said. “It’s very important to support each other now more than ever, because this is a beautiful profession. You can change lives.”

Garcia’s career unfolded during a time when there were barely any discussions about journalists’ safety and mental health. But that has changed dramatically, for the better, in recent years in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, a seemingly never-ending string of mass shootings, and increasing hostility toward journalists, particularly online.

Today more than ever there are resources for newsrooms to keep journalists’ safe, including from leading organizations such as the Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma, PEN America and the ACOS Alliance.

And more journalism groups and conferences are devoting time to this topic.

During the IRE panel, Garcia, along with Cristi Hegranes, chief executive officer and publisher of Global Press, shared how they bring a culture of safety to their newsrooms — Garcia, managing a regional newspaper, and Hegranes, leading independent news bureaus, staffed by local, women reporters, in some of the world’s least-covered places. I helped moderate the panel.

Below are six tips from my conversation with Garcia and Hegranes.

1. Make safety and security a priority and part of newsroom culture.

At Global Press, safety practices are part of daily newsroom operations instead of being a reactive response.

“It’s making sure that duty of care and security is alive every single day,” Hegranes said. “It’s not just something we talk about when an emergency happens. It’s part of how the newsroom operates. We very intentionally don’t have one person who’s like the director of security or the director of duty of care. Duty of care is written into every single person’s job description. Everyone is responsible for their own security, the security of their colleagues and the risk management of the organization.”

2. Invest in mental health.

“There is oftentimes a misconception of like, ‘Oh, you have to be one of like those big newsrooms in order to afford resources for your reporter.’ And that’s false. We all need to stop believing that because there are so many resources,” Hegranes said.

At Global Press, 3% of every dollar they raise goes toward duty of care. Hegranes shared the three components of wellness at Global Press:

1. Psycho-education. “Psycho-education is critical,” she said. It’s about “giving reporters the tools to understand what is burnout. How do you mitigate it? How do you bounce back from it? What is stress? What is trauma? What is resilience?”
2. Culture. “We have wellness ambassadors for each region, who are responsible for making sure that their reporters in each region of the world know what services are available to them,” Hegranes said.
3. Wellness Network: The Global Press Wellness Network is a network of more than 30 counselors who speak the languages of the organization’s reporters all around the world and are available for free, unlimited sessions. A full-time wellness network manager recruits and trains the counselors. Reporters use a confidential system to request sessions.

“Prior to the pandemic, about 40% of our reporters were using the Wellness Network,” Hegranes said. “Today, more than 80% of reporters at Global Press use the Wellness Network. Most reporters use it for more than 12 weeks in a year.”

To provide services for its core staff in the U.S. and parts of Europe, Global Press has partnered with Talkspace, an online counseling resource. Global Press pays for every employee to have two counseling sessions a month on Talkspace.

3. Remember that framing matters.

When building safety programs, focus on resilience and wellness, not crisis response and trauma.

“It’s not about, ‘You’re in crisis, go get help.’ It’s about, ‘You’re well, stay well.’ If you’re well, let’s figure out how to keep you well,” Hegranes said.

4. Assess reporters’ risk tolerance.

Global Press has developed a tool that allows reporters to do a risk-profile assessment. There are four levels: Aggressive, moderate, conservative and casual.

The aggressive risk profile means the reporter is willing and able to tolerate a high degree of risk, while the casual risk profile denotes a reporter who is often surprised and unprepared for risk.

“This has been such a game changing tool for us because it allows reporters to really think critically about how they approach risk and so that we can help them prepare for big stories and mitigate that risk,” Hegranes said.

It also helps editors to better understand their reporters.

“If you’re sending your most conservative risk profile reporter out to a big protest where tear gas is being shot, the reality is you’re probably not going to get the story that you want, because the reporter is just fundamentally telling you, ‘Hey, that’s not my jam.’ And that’s okay,” she said. “So having frank conversations about risk and really diagnosing it, I think is one of the most powerful, simple tools that newsrooms can do.”

5. Stay in communication with reporters in the field.

Garcia said as part of his newsroom’s practice, editors check in with reporters before they begin a high-risk assignment: Where are they going? Where are they staying? Is their cell phone charged? Do they have backup battery? Do they have cash? Do they have pencils?

Before the reporter goes out the editor knows where they are going, especially if they are going somewhere with spotty cell service.

In some cases, the editor texts a reporter in the field to check on them.

6. Make reporters part of the safety planning process.

Too often the burden of security is on the journalist alone, Hegranes said.

“‘Oh, go take a hostile environments training. Oh, you should secure your social media. Oh, you should do this. You should do that.’ At Global Press, we know after 17 years that the best way for our journalists to find security is in solidarity with the newsroom,” she said. “It is absolutely a partnership and the newsroom has to take a heavy responsibility for the reporter security, both planning for how to mitigate it but also the services on the response after the fact.”

Hegranes advised newsroom managers to design their security and safety protocols with reporters.

“We just have to really shift this top-down mechanism where we tell you this is our security policy. It needs to flip for the reporter to say this is what I need in order to cover that story,” she said.

And sometimes that can be done with a simple survey to find out what the reporters need.

For example, a couple of years ago, Global Press conducted a survey of 300 journalists across East Africa and found that a vast majority of reporters said the most common physical injury in the field was to the palms of their hands from falling off the backs of Boda Boda motorcycle taxis.

“And the lesson there is not, ‘Don’t ride a motorcycle taxis,’” Hegranes said. “It’s, ‘We can equip reporters with the tools they need to mitigate risks and keep themselves safe.’ So we added to our training a very simple physical security training about what to carry with you and how to pack wounds on your own hand or somebody else’s hand.”

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About a decade ago, Dave Seglins covered the trial of a Canadian military commander who had turned into a serial killer. The trial was graphic, and it was not easy to sit through.

“A couple days after the sentencing, I had a total break, which I wouldn’t have used that word at the time,” recalled Seglins, an investigative reporter and well-being champion with CBC News in Toronto, during a one-hour virtual session about prioritizing mental health in newsrooms on Jan. 17. “I just thought I was dying, and I couldn’t get out of bed and I was having all of these responses that I did not understand.”

A family doctor referred him to a trauma specialist who told him that what he was experiencing was a normal reaction to what he had witnessed during the trial. He was having a post-traumatic stress response.

“We are incredibly good in this business to prioritize the story and the content and the product,” said Seglins, who recently co-authored a study on the mental health and well-being of Canadian media workers. “What we’re not great at is managing the people and making it okay for people to be imperfect and to be affected by the work.”

Along with Seglins, the webinar included Scott Blanchard, director of journalism at public media station WITF in Harrisburg, Pa., a board member for the Trust for Trauma Journalism; Sewell Chan, editor-in-chief of the Texas Tribune, who led his newsroom in the coverage of the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde; and Dr. Elana Newman, research director of the Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma and McFarlin Professor of Psychology at the University of Tulsa. I moderated the session, which was hosted by The Journalist’s Resource.

Below is the recording of the session and you can read the transcript here. I’ve also highlighted five of my favorite takeaways from the discussion and listed several resources, including two books mentioned by the panelists.

1. Learn about basic trauma terminology.

Trauma, stress and burnout are not the same and should not be treated the same.

Stress is not being able to meet the demands at that time, Newman explained. “We all have stress and stress can make traumatic stress worse. And in fact, I have research with my students that I have discovered that it’s trauma plus a toxic organizational environment for journalists that’s the lethal combination. And that’s why we can’t always reduce the exposure, but we can make the organization safer,” she said.

Trauma is a complex and ambiguous noun and can refer to a physical wound or psychologic injury, according to The Dart Center Style Guide for Trauma-Informed Journalism. “It can refer to a one-time experience or aftermath of overwhelming fear, or the cumulative, complex impact of ongoing abuse and threat, or both,” according to the guide.

Meanwhile, burnout is separate from trauma, Newman said. “It can be related, but burnout is when you have just too much to do and it overwhelms your resources and it usually leads to exhaustion, cynicism,” she said.

There’s also vicarious trauma, which refers to psychological changes resulting from cumulative, empathetic engagement with trauma survivors in a professional context, according to Dart’s style guide. It refers to a changed worldview. “And it’s actually technically refers to both positive and negative ways that your worldview may be changed,” Newman said. “You may see danger everywhere. You may see the world as only a terrible place.

“The world is a dangerous place, but there’s also safety in it. There’s also beauty in it, and trying to keep that balance is important,” she said.

2. Become a champion for mental health in your newsroom.

In Seglins’ case, he took an online course through Harvard Medical School, to learn about the concepts of global mental health and trauma, and the brain science of stress and trauma. He was a fellow of Dart Center’s 2022 Ochberg Fellowship, a program that deepens journalists’ reporting of violence and tragedy.

Holding a town hall meeting was one of the first things Seglins did at CBC News in his role as well-being champion.

He and his colleagues started with a simple question: What can we do to build a culture of well-being around here? They recorded ideas, sent out short survey to their colleagues, published the results internally and prompted a company-wide discussion.

 “If you’re a reporter in the newsroom, own it. Just do it,” Seglins said. “Say, ‘Hey, let’s get together. Let’s have an event.’ We all know how to run a Zoom call now. Doesn’t take much.”

3. Develop protocols for covering traumatic events and hold training sessions.

Blanchard helped create a committee among several newsrooms on the East Coast and together, they developed a guide on how a trauma-awareness and peer-support program in a newsroom would operate.

They followed that with a day-long training for Central Pennsylvania newsrooms with experts, including Newman and a psychologist with a local healthcare system. That training included role-playing for peer support. They held another training, led by the Dart Center, for the broader East Coast newsroom cohort.

“We can change newsroom by newsroom, person by person. We can change. We can make the change happen,” Blanchard said.

Dart Center provides a range of training sessions to news organization and journalism-related nonprofits around the world.

4. Have a specific plan for covering mass tragedies.

“We should recognize and our default should be that covering a massively traumatic event demands that we think about the processing of it and the aftermath of it, and offer people the help, rather than waiting for them to come forward and say that they need it,” said Chan.

At Texas Tribune, following the Uvalde mass shooting, Chan reached out to the Dart Center and Trust for Trauma Journalism for guidance.

The news managers insisted that reporters who had been on the ground for a certain number of days had to leave even if they wanted to stay on this story. The newsroom held sessions for the entire staff to talk about processing what they had just seen and observed. And they brought in a counselor to help smaller set of journalists who were dealing specifically with very graphic material footage that had emerged from the tragedy.

“We can’t say anymore, ‘Well, these are exceptions.’ You have to actually build into your newsroom protocols [with the thought] that something traumatic is probably going to happen,” said Chan, whether it’s a natural or human-caused tragedy.

5. Put people first.

“We do need to be results-oriented as organizations, but we also need to be people-centered,” said Chan. “There’s a human capital crisis in much of journalism. If we’re losing people because we have not supported them, really shame on us, because that’s not only a sign of institutional failure, but also it’s not efficient.”

He hoped that people on the finance side of news operations hear the message and realize that there’s a cost associated with losing and replacing journalists.

“It’s much better to help your existing people to succeed than see a portion of them leave out of frustration or burnout,” said Chan. “There’s this opportunity cost. It doesn’t seem like a cost unless you think about all the other things that you now have to do to make up for that lost work or that lost talent. And that’s really a tragedy.”

Answers to some of the audience questions post-panel

Following the panel, Blanchard volunteered to answer some of the audience questions not addressed during the discussion because we ran out of time. We’ve included the questions and Blanchard’s responses below.

Q: I have conducted research among South African editors on how they are handling journalism related trauma in the newsroom. Firstly, many did not feel equipped to provide trauma support so I agreed with you, we need additional trauma support through in-house psychologists. However, the media economy is under severe strain. There is no money within media organisations. Budgets are tight. How does the panel propose for newsrooms that don’t have the resources that the BBCs and New York Times of this world?

Blanchard: Look for free training opportunities through the Dart Center or other organizations working in this space. Try to connect with a local clinician who understands, respects and/or is a ‘fan’ of journalism, to see if they can provide help with training or resources.

In the U.S. many communities have courses in Mental Health First Aid, which can be free and often don’t cost a lot, and can be helpful for newsroom editors or staff. If you can get a core of people in your newsroom (even just 2 or 3) who can get some training, you may be able to then train others in the newsroom.

Q: This is amazing! Thank you all for your work and leadership in this field. Curious to hear your thoughts on how we can extend these conversations with the people we cover? I recently worked on a project about military sexual violence, and had many conversations with some of the survivors about their experiences with journalists, and how we can better empower them to set boundaries or to care for themselves. Any thoughts on this?

Blanchard: One thing we did not do, but should have, with the program we put together at the York Daily Record, was bring in trauma survivors — including those who have been the subject of news coverage — to talk with staff so that we could more deeply understand the effect trauma has in peoples’ lives and do journalism that is smarter and more respectful of what survivors are going through. I also admit I never thought of it the way you presented it — how could a trauma survivor help others set boundaries/care for themselves? That’s really interesting.   

Q: I’ve been working on an important but difficult, traumatic story for the last year — since January 2022 — on human trafficking in our community. The personal safety of sources and myself have been a concern all along, The newsroom has been wonderful giving me time to investigate — and to walk away from the story and cover other things for my sanity. The time has come to write the first part of the story and I feel paralyzed, hesitating to immerse myself in this person’s trauma long-enough to write it. Do you have any advice for a journalist in the thick of it needing to produce the final product?

Blanchard: In working with both journalists and clinicians in the trauma-journalism space, I hear a common thread that once a person trusts you with their story, you can return that trust by telling their story authentically, truthfully, with humanity … in hopes that through your work, the survivor and their story will be understood. I don’t know if this helps at all, but I think by investing your time and heart in receiving this person’s story and then telling it to a wider world, you are doing something honorable.  

Q: Our newsroom is intentional in addressing trauma from journalism and general mental health, which is what most mental health stories and tipsheets deal with. How can managers support staffers who come to the job with generational trauma, trauma from racism, trauma from their everyday lives or are neurodiverse?

Blanchard: If you can establish a newsroom culture where trauma and mental health conversations are normal and accepted as a sign of a strong newsroom, and not something viewed as unusual or exceptional or to be avoided, I think you open the door for staffers and managers to discuss whatever individuals bring to the job. 

Q: “Any culture change is hard.” Very true. How would y’all suggest or have experience challenging ‘shame’ when it comes to needing to have mental health conversations in a newsroom? For young journalists in particular for whom it’s just occurring that they may be having trouble.

Blanchard: See if you can figure out ways to normalize conversations around trauma and mental health in the newsroom. You can do it in part by linking it to best practices as a journalist: The more you understand about these issues, the stronger your reporting and writing will be. If people feel comfortable in that space, they may feel more comfortable talking about issues they may be having. 

Q: What are some ways a small short-staffed newsroom start to address burnout?

Blanchard: If you’re sensing that there is staff-wide burnout, or that there could be, you could consider talking to staff about what’s going on and seeing if there are problem-solving opportunities. Just acknowledging it can be a big deal — I have heard a lot of people say that the thing that grinds on them the most is that leadership is clueless as to what is going on. I can speak from experience when I say that even well-intentioned managers will miss things or not be as aware/responsive as they should be. You may also find that some staffers just need to be heard and supported regarding frustrations they’re having, and simply having a conversation can be a helpful start to meeting challenges in the newsroom.     

Q: As a professor who teaches university students hoping to go into journalism, what would be the most important wisdom you would impart to them? What should they do to prepare?

Blanchard: As a manager who has hired his share of young reporters, I would say that they should understand that as journalists, they may or will be involved in or exposed to stories of trauma. They should learn as much as they can about trauma awareness, self-care and peer support. When they interview for jobs, they should ask newsrooms what is in place — infrastructure, training, commitment etc. — with regard to those issues.

Additional resources:

• The Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma has a wide range of resources for journalists and news managers, including a style guide on trauma-informed reporting.
• Here’s the Taking Care Report, resulting from a survey of 1,200 Canadian media workers.
• The panelists mentioned two books about journalism and trauma. One was “The Bang-Bang Club: Snapshots from a Hidden War” and the other was “Journalists Under Fire: The Psychological Hazards of Covering War.”
• Check out this resource list on self-care and coping with trauma for journalists.
• On The Journalist’s Resource website, you can find several articles on journalism and trauma:
  • Trauma-informed journalism: What it is, why it’s important and tips for practicing it.
  • Journalists are under stress. What’s the solution?
  • Self-care tips for journalists – plus a list of resources.

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You may have heard the term “trauma-informed” in the context of health care, education and, more recently, journalism. In general, being trauma-informed means recognizing that trauma is common and people may have experienced serious trauma at some point in their lives.

Trauma-informed practices first took shape in medicine, after the medical community began to understand trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Other fields, such as education and law, have also been discussing trauma-informed practices.

“Trauma-informed journalism” is a relatively new term, even though covering trauma — ranging from storms and fires to sexual assaults and homicides to mass shootings and wars — has always been a part of journalists’ work.

Trauma-informed journalism can mean different things to different people, says Tamara Cherry, who worked as a crime reporter for nearly 15 years and is the author of upcoming book, “The Trauma Beat: Victims, Survivors & the Journalists Who Tell Their Stories,” slated for publication in Spring 2023.

“Trauma-informed journalism means understanding trauma, understanding what a trauma survivor is experiencing before you show up at their door, and understanding how your actions [as a journalist] will impact them after you pack up and leave,” says Cherry. “It’s also about creating the safe and predictable spaces. It’s about forgetting all the rules that we usually abide by when we’re interviewing school board officials and politicians and recognizing that when it comes to trauma, we need to be treating our interview subjects differently.”

Discussions about trauma-informed journalism are becoming more common due to a confluence of factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic and an increased hostility toward journalists. Together, these elements “have really made it clear that for journalists to do their jobs, they need to understand trauma more, so that they can tell better stories,” says Elana Newman, research director at the Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma at Columbia University and McFarlin Professor of Psychology at the University of Tulsa.

This explainer and tip sheet on trauma-informed journalism is based on a review of several reliable sources on trauma-informed reporting and interviews with Newman of the Dart Center, and Cherry, founder of Pickup Communications PR agency, which provides services and tools for victims and survivors of traumatic events, the journalists who cover their stories and the criminal justice sector. We use The Dart Center Style Guide for Trauma-Informed Journalism as our source for defining trauma-related terminology.

“Trauma-informed journalism means understanding trauma, understanding what a trauma survivor is experiencing before you show up at their door, and understanding how your actions [as a journalist] will impact them after you pack up and leave.”

Tamara Cherry

1. Understand that trauma impacts the brain, including the memory and the ability to vocalize events as they happened.

Trauma results from an event, series of events, or set of circumstances that are physically or emotionally harmful or life threatening to an individual, and have “lasting adverse effects on the individual’s functioning and mental, physical, social, emotional, or spiritual well-being,” according to the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Trauma can significantly affect a person’s perception and judgment. When faced with traumatic situations, the brain can go into survival mode and people can suddenly feel and behave differently from their normal selves. “That’s why eyewitnesses to traumatic events are notoriously unreliable. It’s also why even seasoned journalists at moments of high emotion can sometimes get it wrong,” according to the Dart Center’s “Trauma & Journalism: A Guide for Journalists, Editors & Managers.”

Trauma impacts the brain, memories and a person’s ability to vocalize their stories, says Cherry. Immediately after a tragedy, “we as journalists are asking people to tell their stories, when quite often they literally can’t,” she says. “So, we might think that we’re getting their story, but really, we’re getting whatever version of their story that their brain is coming up with in the moment.” 

But months down the road, when the sources have had time to heal a little and they’re not in fight or flight mode, we might actually get a more accurate story, Cherry says.

2. When getting informed consent to tell a trauma survivor’s story, err on the side of overexplaining.

In the context of trauma-informed reporting, informed consent means informing your sources about the nature of your story and having their consent to use their name and report on their experiences. While this is an important aspect of reporting many stories, trauma-informed reporting requires journalists to err on the side of overexplaining.  

“Don’t assume [sources] know what terms like ‘on the record’ or ‘on background’ mean. If that’s something you’re discussing, make sure to be extremely clear about how they will or won’t be identified,” writes journalist Alice Wilder in “Trauma Informed Reporting,” published for Transom, a nonprofit organization that brings new voices and ideas to public broadcasting via workshops and its website.

Give your sources the option to review their quotes or even to change their mind about being quoted before a story is published.

In writing her book, Cherry allowed the people she surveyed and interviewed — including more than 100 trauma survivors — to review the parts in which they were quoted or where their stories were used to ensure their continued consent and accuracy of the survivors’ accounts after her initial interview.

“I knew enough about trauma to really appreciate the weight of responsibility that I had to get this right and to not cause further harm,” she says. “I wanted them to be able to review their excerpt, but I didn’t want it to leave them in a dark place. I wanted it to leave them in a better place.”

“Don’t assume [sources] know what terms like ‘on the record’ or ‘on background’ mean. If that’s something you’re discussing, make sure to be extremely clear about how they will or won’t be identified.”

Alice Wilder

3. Give power to survivors during the interview and storytelling process.

Journalists are trained not to let sources pick which questions they want to answer, see the questions ahead of the interview or the story before it’s published. But when it comes to interviewing survivors of trauma, it’s OK to break those rules. Let your sources know that they have control of the situation.

“One simple way to raise their comfort level is by not pushing any questions that they are not prepared to answer,” writes Maggie Doheny in her article “Best Practices for Trauma-Informed Journalism,” published by the Reynolds Journalism Institute in December 2021.

The Dart Center’s guide, “Tragedies & Journalists,” has five tips for interviewing victims of trauma:

• Always treat victims with dignity and respect.
• Clearly identify yourself.
• Never say “I understand” or “I know how you feel.”
• Don’t overwhelm your source with the hardest questions first.
• If you receive a harsh reaction, leave a number or your card and explain that survivors can contact you if they want to talk later.

In the aftermath of a tragedy, prepare yourself for a wide range of responses from survivors. “Bear in mind the emotional impact of what has happened. Approach people with care, respect and kindness. Take a moment to introduce yourself, make eye contact and explain why you would like to talk to them. Take it slowly and don’t rush — however chaotic the circumstances. Don’t just stuff a microphone in someone’s face and expect an interview,” according to the Dart Center’s trauma and journalism guide.  

“Never ask that most overused and least effective of journalistic questions: ‘How do you feel?’ You may get tears in response, but you’re not likely to get a coherent, useful or meaningful answer. ‘How do you feel?’ is the one question survivors and victims consistently say they find the most distressing and inappropriate. Better options include: ‘How are you now?’ or ‘How did you experience that?’ or ‘What do you think about …?’” according to the Dart Center’s trauma and journalism guide.  

“Opt for open-ended questions and let subjects know that they’re not required to answer questions,” advises Wilder in her Transom article. “Instead of ‘Start at the beginning’ or other chronological based questions ask, ‘Where would you like to begin?’ or ‘Would you tell me what you are able to remember about your experience?'”

Wilder also advises against questioning why your source is emotional: “Even if the traumatic event was long ago, or if it doesn’t seem ‘that bad’ to you, their reaction should be respected,” she write. She also advises against saying “I understand what you’re going through” or “I know how you feel.”

Ask survivors what they would like to achieve in telling their story, advises Cherry.

And if you’re producing a podcast, video, or a printed story about a crime or tragedy that happened in the past, make sure the survivors are aware of it and are extended the opportunity to include their voice and be part of the process. “Because if they’re not, then they could really feel like we are talking about them behind their back,” says Cherry. “Or they can be surprised by it because they might not even know [the podcast/show/story] is happening.”

“‘How do you feel?’ is the one question survivors and victims consistently say they find the most distressing and inappropriate. Better options include: ‘How are you now?’ or ‘How did you experience that?’ or ‘What do you think about …?'”

Dart Center’s Trauma & Journalism: A Guide For Journalists, Editors & Managers

4. Have a plan for your interviews.

If you’re interviewing a trauma survivor, think about how you’re caring for them before, during and after the interview.

Let survivors pick the place of the interview, so they can feel safe. Tell survivors what questions you’re planning to ask, Cherry writes in her tip sheet. Ask if there are questions you should avoid.

During the interview, make sure survivors aren’t reliving the event. Find out if they want to take a break.

At then end of the interview, thank your sources and let them how their interview will be used and when to expect the story, advises journalist and author Jo Healey in “Reporting on Coronavirus: Handling Sensitive Remote Interviews,” published in 2020 on the Dart Center’s website.

5. Don’t forget about your own mental well-being.

Over the years, research has shown that journalists’ job can affect their mental health.

Depending on their beats or work locations, 4% to 59% of journalists have symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, according to the Dart Center.

Journalists should be aware of signs of trouble, which include inability to concentrate, feeling on edge or numb, or inability to feel compassion for sources, Newman explained in a 2021. Other signs include inability to sleep, feeling angry, or excessive use of alcohol.

Here are five self-care tips from the Dart Center’s 2009 guide, “Tragedies & Journalists“:

• Know your limits.
• Take breaks.
• Find a friend or colleague who is a good listener.
• Find a hobby, exercise, spend time with family and friends.
• Seek counseling if you feel overwhelmed.

Newman also shared self-care tips for journalists in 2021, which we summarized in “Self-care tips for journalists — plus a list of several resources.”

Recommended reading

• “The Dart Center Style Guide for Trauma-Informed Journalism,” Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma, June 2021.
• “Trauma & Journalism: A Guide for Journalists, Editors & Managers,” Dart Center, 2007.
• “Tragedies & Journalists,” a 40-page guide to help journalists, photojournalists and editors report on violence while protecting both victims and themselves. Dart Center, February 2009.
• “Trauma-Informed Journalism: Tips for Telling Important Stories, Better,” Tamara Cherry. April 2022.
• “Trauma Informed Reporting,” Alice Wilder. Transom.org, March 2021.
• “Trauma-Informed Interviewing: Techniques from a Clinician’s Toolkit,” Kate Porterfield. Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma, November 2019.
• “Best practices for trauma-informed journalism,” Maggie Doheny. Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute at the University of Missouri, December 2021.
• “A training session on trauma-informed reporting,” Nicole Froio. Hosted by The International journalists’ Network, December 2021.
• “Keep these seven lessons in mind when interviewing trauma survivors,” Lilly Dayton. Center for Health Journalism.
• “Trauma Reporting: A Journalist’s Guide to Covering Sensitive Stories,” Jo Healey, July 2019.
• “Weathering the Trauma Storms: Developing Interviewing Techniques,” by Gavin Rees. Dart Center, June 2007.
• “Covering Children and Trauma,” Ruth Teichroeb. Dart Center, February 2009.
• “Resources: Reporting on Refugees and Migration Through the Eyes of Young Children,” Dart Center, September 2019.
• “Reporting on Sexual Violence in Conflict,” Dart Centre Europe.
• “How working with sexual assault survivors changed the way I think about journalism,” Samantha Caiola. Center for Health Journalism.
• “Working with Traumatic Imagery,” Dart Center, August 2014.
• “Reporting on coronavirus: Handling sensitive remote interviews,” Jo Healey. Dart Center, April 2020.
• “Trauma Stewardship: An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self While Caring for Others” by Laura van Dernoot Lipsky and Connie Burk, May 2009.
• “Journalism and Vicarious Trauma: A Guide for Journalists, Editors and News Organizations,” by Sam Dubberley and Michele Grant. First Draft, April 2017.
• “Resources for Journalists Coping With Trauma,” Dart Center, June 2021.
• “The Body Keeps the Score” by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, September 2015.
• Journalism and Trauma, a free course on how traumatic stress affects victims and how to interview trauma victims with compassion and respect, offered by Poynter.

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In the past decade, researchers have pinpointed a phenomenon in children who have experienced adversity or trauma that can have negative health effects that extend well into adulthood. They call it “toxic stress.”

Toxic stress goes beyond a healthy or tolerable stress response. It is characterized by its intensity and duration. Researchers have labeled three overarching categories of stress:

• Healthy stress is brief and mild-to-moderate in intensity. For example, a child getting a vaccination and then being comforted by a caregiver.
• Tolerable stress response consists of an out-of-the ordinary event — such as a death in the family or a natural disaster — that children are helped through by adults.
• Toxic stress response is prolonged, frequent or intense, and not mitigated by a supportive adult.

Stress can be useful and protective. Think of the “fight-or-flight” response that kicks in when there’s imminent danger: your heart races, you get a boost of energy, your pupils dilate. Those responses are triggered by hormones and neurotransmitters.

But chemical changes in the brain can cause harm if they occur often or for a long time. For example, prolonged exposure to stress hormones can lead to an extended immune system response, which in turn leads to systemic inflammation throughout the body. Prolonged inflammation has been linked with the development of numerous chronic diseases, including diabetes, cancer and asthma, and toxic stress in particular has been linked to diseases including coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer and autoimmune disorders.

The landmark 2012 report in Pediatrics that gave toxic stress its name puts it this way: When the body’s biological regulators of the stress response are overly taxed or otherwise imbalanced, this “can lead to a chronic ‘wear and tear’ effect on multiple organ systems, including the brain.”

Stress in childhood is often measured by adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs — a term used to describe difficulties and traumas some children face at home, including household dysfunction, neglect, and physical, psychological and sexual abuse. In other words, ACEs are often the trigger for toxic stress that follows.

But adverse stress reactions can even begin in utero. The American Academy of Pediatrics in August 2019 issued a policy statement titled “The Impact of Racism on Child and Adolescent Health,” which indicates that racial discrimination contributes to maternal stress, which is in turn linked to health complications for infants. The research that follows here looks the health effects of ACEs and toxic stress from kindergarten through adulthood and even into future generations. It also looks at research on potential interventions to improve stress reactions in at-risk groups.

Adverse Experiences in Early Childhood and Kindergarten Outcomes

Jimenez, Manuel E.; et al. Pediatrics, February 2016.

Kids with ACEs before age 5 were more likely to have academic and behavioral problems in kindergarten, this study finds. The researchers looked at a sample of 1,007 children who were part of a national, urban study population – the Fragile Families & Child Wellbeing Study, a 15-year longitudinal study of children born into families at greater risk of breaking up and living in poverty.  Most children in the study were born to unmarried parents. ACEs included physical, sexual, and psychological abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction, including substance use, mental illness and incarceration. Teachers of the children in the sample rated the kids’ academic skills and classroom behavior. Over half the group had experienced one ACE; 12% experienced three or more. The group who had experienced three or more ACEs were more likely to have below-average language and literacy skills, attention problems, social problems and aggression compared with kids who had experienced no ACEs. The researchers mention that existing scholarship links poor school achievement to poor health, suggesting that these findings have broader implications beyond the classroom.

Adverse Childhood Experiences in Infancy and Toddlerhood Predict Obesity and Health Outcomes in Middle Childhood
McKelvey, Lorraine M.; Saccente, Jennifer E.; Swindle, Taren M. Childhood Obesity, April 2019.

This study looks at the relationship between ACEs in infancy and toddlerhood on health outcomes later in life. The researchers looked at data covering an 11-year span collected from 1,335 families living in the U.S. The data included family interviews and observational information about ACEs, including emotional, physical and sexual abuse. When the children were 11 years old, the researchers collected information about their height, weight and health status. The researchers found associations between ACEs in early childhood and obesity, respiratory problems, poorer overall health ratings than their peers and regular use of non-ADD/ADHD prescription medication at age 11 (ACEs have already been linked to attention problems, so the researchers were interested in prescription medication taken for non-attention problems). For all health measures, kids with four or more ACEs in early childhood were in the poorest health at age 11. Kids with four or more ACEs had twice the risk of each of the studied health outcomes compared with those who had no ACEs.

Extending the Toxic Stress Model into Adolescence: Profiles of Cortisol Reactivity
Joos, Celina M., Ashley McDonald, and Martha E. Wadsworth. Psychoneuroendocrinology, September 2019.

This study builds upon research on toxic stress by looking at another critical period of development — adolescence. Researchers collected data from 101 adolescents between ages 10 and 12 who lived in urban, low-income households in Harrisburg, Pa. The data included saliva samples, which were analyzed for cortisol levels, and survey responses about sources of stress, family support, personal coping mechanisms and psychological well-being. Cortisol is a stress hormone that can have numerous effects, including suppression of the immune system and increased formation of glucose in the blood. The researchers found signs of toxic stress in adolescence, extending the concept beyond early childhood. Those who were exposed to more community violence and who had less family support did not exhibit normal cortisol level changes in response to stress — an indication of damage to the normal stress response system due to chronic overuse. On the other hand, those who exhibited a normal cortisol response to stress tended to have fewer trauma symptoms.

Adverse Childhood Experiences and Adult Well-Being in a Low-Income, Urban Cohort
Giovanelli, Alison; et al. Pediatrics, April 2016.

This study had two objectives: to determine connections between adverse experiences before the age of 18 and well-being, or lack thereof, in early adulthood, and to test whether a preschool intervention program mitigates such connections. The study followed 1,539 children growing up in disadvantaged neighborhoods of Chicago over more than two decades. The group was 93% African American and 7% Hispanic.

The 989 children in the intervention group attended a preschool program that offered federally-funded educational and family support services, including low child-to-teacher ratios, parent workshops, and health and nutrition services. The control group – the remaining 550 children — attended a typical full-day public school program that did not offer equivalent services. The researchers followed up with the participants when they reached early adulthood (22 to 24 years) to assess whether they experienced ACEs at any point before the age of 18, including the prolonged absence of a parent, death of a parent, divorce of parents, frequent family conflict and being a victim or witness of a violent crime. They measured early adulthood through self-reports of mental health, substance use and occupational status. Researchers used administrative records to measure educational status and criminal behavior, including juvenile arrest and adult felony charges. They found that participants with two or more adverse childhood experiences had significantly worse adult outcomes for the following measures: depression, high school graduation, juvenile arrest, having a felony charge and health-compromising behavior (e.g., smoking and drinking). Further, the preschool early intervention program did not affect the relationship between ACEs and adult well-being outcomes. However, the program was linked to greater educational attainment for those growing up in families with more family-level risk factors (measured by factors including residence in a high-poverty neighborhood, receiving welfare benefits and being raised in a single parent household).

The Association Between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Risk of Cancer in Adulthood: A Systematic Review of the Literature
Holman, Dawn M.; et al. Pediatrics, November 2016.

This literature review looks at existing scholarship about the links between ACEs and cancer risk later in life. The researchers included 12 studies in the review. Seven of the studies were conducted in the U.S., the rest were conducted in Great Britain, Canada, Finland and Saudi Arabia. ACEs included neglect, parental separation or divorce, parental death or serious illness, exposure to domestic violence, physical, psychological, or sexual abuse, and other kinds of adversity or trauma. The researchers find that in all but one of the studies, exposure to ACEs was associated with an increased risk of a cancer diagnosis in adulthood. Of the ACEs included in the review, physical and psychological abuse were most commonly linked with adult cancer risk. Sexual abuse was also linked with heightened cancer risk in two studies. The review is limited in that it does not explain the mechanisms through which ACE exposure might increase cancer risk.

Associations Between Maternal Caregiving and Child Indicators of Toxic Stress Among Multiethnic, Urban Families
Condon, Eileen M.; et al. Journal of Pediatric Health Care, July 2019.

This study looks at the effects of parenting on children’s stress levels. The researchers studied 54 pairs of mothers and children in New Haven, Conn. Participants were recruited through their affiliation with a prior study; all pairs had, in the past, been in the control group of a study testing the effects of an early home visiting intervention for first-time young mothers. They measured indicators of toxic stress — including cortisol levels and levels of immune functioning — in the children’s hair and saliva. Mothers reported their parenting behaviors and completed a survey that provided further insight into their caregiving style, as determined by factors such as interest and curiosity in their child’s mental state. The researchers found that mothers whose behavior was categorized as hostile and coercive — for example, they had agreed with statements such as “I grab or handle my child roughly” and “When I am disappointed in my child’s behavior, I remind him/her about what I’ve done for him/her” — were more likely to have children with behavioral issues. While there were no significant associations between hostile and coercive parenting and biological indicators of toxic stress in children, children whose mothers were more supportive and understanding (per the survey’s measures) had fewer visits to the emergency room.

Parental Adverse Childhood Experiences and Offspring Development at 2 Years of Age
Folger, Alonzo T.; et al. Pediatrics, April 2018.

This study suggests that the effects of toxic stress can be passed down through generations. The researchers looked at 433 parent-child pairs to measure the relationship between adversity or trauma experienced by parents when they were children and developmental delays and eligibility for early intervention services among their offspring. They found that parents who, as children, experienced adversity or trauma, were in fact more likely to have children with an increased risk for developmental delays and eligibility for early intervention services. For example, for each additional maternal ACE, children had an 18% increase in the risk of possibly having a developmental delay. Similar associations held for paternal ACEs. Mothers with three or more ACEs were 2.23 times more likely to have children with a suspected developmental delay compared with mothers who had less than 3 ACEs. And as maternal ACE exposure increased, the number of suspected developmental delays affecting their children increased as well.  Fathers with two or more ACES were 4 times more likely to have children with a suspected developmental delay compared with fathers who had one or zero ACEs. The researchers conclude with the suggestion that parental ACEs might be passed down either through genetic means, though this is not examined in the study.

Maternal Adverse Childhood Experiences and Infant Development
Racine, Nicole; et al. Pediatrics, April 2018.

This study focuses on mothers who experienced adversity or trauma when they were children – and the ways this can affect infants’ development. The researchers studied 1,994 women in Canada through pregnancy and until their infants reached 36 months of age. Mothers provided details about ACEs experienced before the age of 18 – including physical, sexual and emotional abuse, as well as family dysfunction. Participants in the sample had between 0 and 4 ACEs. The researchers also screened the infants involved for developmental delays in 5 domains, including communication, gross and fine motor skills, problem solving skills, and personal and social development. Lastly, researchers analyzed measures of maternal physical and mental health to clarify potential pathways through which maternal ACEs impact child development. The researchers found that maternal ACEs were linked to developmental delays for infants.

They suggest these delays might be linked to poor maternal physical and mental health during pregnancy. “Specifically, mothers who experienced more adversity in childhood experienced more health risks in pregnancy and, in turn, had infants who were born with more infant health risks, which were associated with poorer developmental outcomes at 12 months.” The researchers conclude that this indicates a biological framework through which toxic stress is passed down through generations. Maternal stress during pregnancy also was linked to developmental delays, another finding in support of biological factors influencing the transmission of intergenerational health risks. Lastly, after giving birth, mothers who were more hostile as parents were more likely to have infants with developmental delays, which suggests that environmental (e.g., nurture-related factors) also play a role in the transmission of health risks from mothers to children.

Interventions to Improve Cortisol Regulation in Children: A Systematic Review
Slopen, N.; McLaughlin, K. A.; Shonkoff, J.P. Pediatrics, February 2014.

This article reviews the literature on potential interventions to improve biological stress responses in children. The researchers included 19 studies in the review. Each study had control and intervention groups. Eighteen of the studies found differences between baseline cortisol or cortisol reactions between the control group and the intervention group. The design of the studies, however, varied. The researchers suggest a subset of the studies that included an intervention group, a control group, and a third group — a low-risk comparison group — provide the most insight into the effectiveness of interventions. This is because the low-risk comparison group provides a reference for healthy cortisol activity to which the researchers can compare the intervention and control groups. The eight studies with a low-risk comparison group did provide evidence for interventions that helped the experimental group reach healthy cortisol levels (in contrast to the control group). The interventions were all psychosocial interventions – interventions that work to change thoughts and behaviors – that ranged from parenting classes to a stress-management program for mothers. The authors conclude, “Psychosocial interventions hold promise for promoting healthy regulation of physiologic stress-response systems in children and potentially preventing the onset of health problems later in life.”

For more on children’s health, see our roundups of research on how detention centers affect the health of immigrant children and  the health effects of screen time.

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Day in and day out, journalists report on complex and difficult topics — natural disasters, political violence and human suffering, for example — and often they do this work while also worrying about newsroom layoffs and the future of the industry. It takes a mental and physical toll. Below, we’ve summarized several studies that look at the effects of occupational stress on hard news reporters.

Covering trauma can generate another kind of trauma, Natalee Seely, an assistant professor of journalism at Ball State University, suggests. “Like therapists — who through the process of ‘transference’ can vicariously experience their patients’ emotional pain — reporters may also experience a type of indirect, secondary trauma through the victims they interview and the graphic scenes to which they must bear witness,” she writes in a 2019 study on the impact of covering trauma published in Newspaper Research Journal.

Seely’s research, and others’ featured below, examine the issue from a range of angles, from the U.S., to overseas, from covering natural disasters, to political violence and mass shootings, from working under a regime that is hostile to the press, to reviewing violent, user-submitted images in the newsroom.

Weathering the Storm: Occupational Stress in Journalists Who Covered Hurricane Harvey
Dworznik-Hoak, Gretchen. Journalism Studies, June 2019.

Dworznik-Hoak, a journalism professor at Kent State University, surveyed and interviewed 30 journalists who had covered Hurricane Harvey, a Category 4 storm that inundated Texas in August 2017. Respondents, who included reporters, editors, photographers, news anchors and meteorologists, worked at newspapers and television stations in the Texas cities hit hardest by Hurricane Harvey. During interviews, which occurred about two months after the hurricane, respondents were asked to reflect on their experience covering it. The interviews were analyzed for responses related to stressors and emotional responses. Participants also completed a survey that measured for symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression.

Key findings:

• According to the survey results, 1 in 5 respondents met the threshold for PTSD, and 90% experienced some level of PTSD symptoms related to Hurricane Harvey coverage.
• 2 in 5 respondents met the threshold for depression, and 93% experienced some symptoms of depression.
• Experiences of PTSD and depression were directly related to the hurricane, the author writes. Symptoms included disturbing memories and dreams and difficulty sleeping. Some respondents reported experiencing disruptions in their daily lives due to their psychological symptoms.
• Duration of coverage and type of stories assigned during the hurricane were the most frequently mentioned stressors. Specifically, the unpredictable schedule, and the long hours and numerous days worked without a break contributed to journalists’ stress.
• One reporter said duplicate assignments also contributed to stress levels. For example, the person’s newsroom ran repeated stories about victims cleaning out their houses: “I can see doing one of those stories a night, but there were nights where we did two or three of those,” the reporter noted. “And I feel like there were other things that maybe could have been reported.”
• Journalists also felt stress about the importance of their role during the disaster. As one reporter put it, “With most breaking news situations we’re talking about the people just being curious about what’s going on, but when you’re talking about something like a region-wide disaster, you’re talking about peoples’ actual lives. The news can potentially save someone’s life.”
• Another source of stress was a lack of experience covering hurricanes and lack of direction and preparation from newsroom managers. As one reporter described it, “It was just like, to some extent we had some guidance from editors as far as what we should be doing, but they kind of expected a lot of self-sufficiency and fending for ourselves, which I didn’t necessarily agree with.”
• Journalists also felt stress related to the emotional hardship of covering disaster victims. One photographer described an assignment at a bowling alley being used as a shelter for flood victims as “hard to see.”
• An added stress was that hometown reporters often had to navigate the disaster themselves, seeking shelter with friends because their own homes did not have power or water, for example. One reporter described the problem: “There’s no electricity. There’s no running water. And if you don’t have electricity, you can’t turn on your A/C [air conditioner], so you want to open your windows. But you can’t because there’s mosquitoes. It was just this crazy time. For us, we live in the community. So try to tell the story while going through that!”
• Journalists most commonly reported the following negative personal responses: crying and feeling overwhelmed, frustrated and guilty.
• For reporters who must cover natural disasters, the author suggests taking consistent breaks, diversifying the types of stories assigned and having a newsroom coverage plan with well-defined roles and expectations as strategies that might reduce distress.

Journalists and Mental Health: The Psychological Toll of Covering Everyday Trauma
Seely, Natalee. Newspaper Research Journal, May 2019.

This study, authored by Seely, looks at survey responses from 254 daily newspaper journalists in the U.S. plus information collected during in-depth interviews with 24 of those journalists. Journalists from 16 states — Arizona, California, Delaware, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington, Wisconsin and West Virginia — were interviewed.

Respondents were asked about the frequency and intensity of their trauma coverage, as well as their job satisfaction and experience of personal trauma. Seely finds that as the frequency and intensity of journalists’ trauma coverage increased, so did the severity of their PTSD symptoms. Interviews revealed examples of the emotional drain, painful flashbacks, anxiety, depression, guilt and coping mechanisms employed, including crying and substance use, such as drinking alcohol. Seely suggests these findings indicate the importance of self-care, healthy coping strategies and newsroom-based strategies (such as offering trainings and professional development on crisis reporting and encouraging reporters to access mental health resources) to promote the well-being of journalists.

Witnessing Images of Extreme Violence: A Psychological Study of Journalists in the Newsroom Feinstein, Anthony; Audet, Blair; Waknine, Elizabeth. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine Open, July 2014.

User generated content (UGC) — for instance, cell phone videos and photos obtained from members of the public — can offer a window into a breaking news event that a journalist might not be on the ground to witness themselves. News organizations are tasked with reviewing such material, which often isn’t censored, to determine its newsworthiness. That means frequent exposure to disturbing images. This study surveyed 116 journalists working with UGC in three international newsrooms. The researchers — led by Anthony Feinstein, professor of psychiatry at the University of Toronto — measured the frequency of UGC-based work and its impact on newsroom employees in terms of their mental health symptoms and alcohol consumption.

Key findings:

• Frequency of exposure to UGC independently predicted higher scores on mental health screenings for PTSD, depression and psychological distress.
• Duration of exposure to UGC — measured in hours per shift — was linked to higher scores for one component of the PTSD screening criteria.
• Nearly 1 in 5 respondents — 15.4% of male respondents and 17.4% of female respondents — drank to excess, meaning they drank more than 14 units of alcohol per week. Journalists’ alcohol consumption was associated with symptoms of PTSD and depression and frequency of exposure to UGC.
• The authors conclude that frequency of exposure to UGC, rather than duration of exposure, is linked to more symptoms of emotional distress. In other words, the number of shifts journalists spent looking at UGC mattered more than the length of a shift in terms of emotional impact. They suggest that news organizations might reduce the frequency of journalists’ exposure to UGC to minimize the risk of emotional harm.

The Psychological Effects of Reporting Extreme Violence: A Study of Kenyan Journalists
Feinstein, Anthony; Wanga, Justus; Owen, John. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine Open, September 2015.

This study was co-authored by a neuropsychiatrist, a journalist and a journalism professor. It analyzes survey responses from 57 journalists at two national news organizations in Kenya. The journalists were asked about their exposure to occupational stressors such as being physically injured or offered bribes or facing pressure to drop a story. They also were asked whether they had covered either of two traumatic events in the nation’s recent past: the ethnic violence around the 2007 general election and a 2013 mass shooting at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi. The survey was administered seven years after the election violence. In addition to being interviewed, the journalists completed three questionnaires evaluating their general health andsymptoms of depression and PTSD.

The key findings:

• Two-thirds of journalists said they had been offered bribes; a similar portion had been told to drop a story.
• Nearly 20% of respondents were wounded on the job. More than half of those wounded sustained these injuries while covering election-related violence.
• The single most likely predictor of emotional distress was if a journalist had sustained wounds.
• Journalists who covered the election violence had more PTSD symptoms than their colleagues who had not covered it. However, journalists who covered the violence were no more likely than journalists who had not covered the election violence to receive psychological counseling.
• There were no significant differences in psychological symptoms between journalists who covered the Westgate Mall attack and those who did not.
• To explain the difference in psychological responses between journalists who covered the election violence and the Westgate Mall attack, the authors suggest that proximity to danger could be a key factor. Journalists who covered the Westgate attack generally were protected by barriers created by the army and police, the authors explain. The election violence, however, “was experienced firsthand as neighbor turned on neighbor, communities were destroyed and the media in some cases became the focus of mob rage.” The authors add that the fact that journalists continued to experience symptoms of PTSD and anxiety seven years after the election underscores that traumatic nature of this type of exposure to violence.

The Psychological Wellbeing of Iranian Journalists: A Descriptive Study
Feinstein, Anthony; et al. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine Open, December 2016.

How do journalists fare in a country that is hostile to their livelihood? This study delves into the question through an analysis of survey responses from 114 journalists working in Iran and Iranian journalists working abroad. Iran places 170^th out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index — a ranking of the freedoms afforded to journalists throughout the world, as measured by their responses to a qualitative survey and quantitative data on abuses and violence against the press. (The U.S. ranks 48^th, between Romania and Senegal.) Journalists in Iran can face state interference, imprisonment, harassment and even death for their work.

Journalists responding to this survey provided information about their experiences with various occupational stressors, such as arrest, torture and intimidation. They completed screening questionnaires for PTSD and depression.

Key findings:

• Half of respondents reported that they had experienced intimidation, which, for the purposes of this study, was defined as a threat in the absence of torture, assault or arrest. Of those, 78.1% stopped working on a story because of intimidation.
• Nearly half — 43.1% — received threats against their families.
• 2 out of 5 (41.2%) were arrested. Nearly 1 in 5 were tortured. And 1 in 10 were assaulted.
• Arrest, torture and intimidation were linked to PTSD symptoms, and assault and intimidation were linked to depressive symptoms.
• Around one-third of journalists surveyed had moderate to severe depression.
• Nearly half of journalists surveyed — 46.5% — were not receiving therapy. For those who had sought treatment, 60% said they did so because of their experiences as journalists.
• Nearly a third of respondents seemed to self-medicate in response to the stresses they experienced — 30.6% said they regularly used barbiturates, a sedative typically used to treat insomnia and seizures that also has anti-anxiety effects. Barbiturate use was correlated with a number of PTSD and depressive symptoms.

Job Demands, Coping, and Impacts of Occupational Stress among Journalists: A Systematic Review
Monteiro, Susana; Pinto, Alexandra Marques; Roberto, Magda Sofia. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, September 2016.

The day-to-day newsroom grind can be stressful even for those not covering a tragedy. This review summarizes the findings of 28 research articles published from 2002 to 2015 on the impacts of occupational stressors on journalists’ health and well-being.

The authors find the following were the most common sources of stress:

• Job-role demands, such as ambiguous expectations or uncertainties about a particular role, or over-burdensome expectations.
• Interpersonal demands, such as problems among colleagues, competition and ethical issues in reporting.
• Physical demands, like the stresses posed by working in a busy newsroom without natural light.
• Working conditions, such as low pay, long hours and late-night deadlines.
• Task-related stressors, such as interviewing distraught sources, time pressures, violence and intimidation, and exposure to traumatic events.

The following were common impacts on physical and mental health:

• Osteomuscular disorders, orbone or muscle pain from work demands.
• Health risks associated with receiving irregular income, working long hours and neglecting symptoms of illness.
• Burnout, depression, anxiety, PTSD, alcohol and substance use, and job turnover.
• There was a small-to-moderate effect size linking exposure to traumatic events during work and symptoms of PTSD, according to the authors’ meta-analysis of 13 studies.

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According to survey data from more than 2,100 adults, one-quarter of Americans who have been stalked never told anyone about it. 

The finding comes from a study about stalking published in Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology in July 2018.

The study sheds light on the fact that many who experience stalking never report it; highlighting a parallel with the experiences of people who have been sexually assaulted, many of whom are sharing their stories for the first time, accompanied by the hashtag #WhyIDidntReport on social media.

The research, led by Matt R. Nobles, an associate professor at the University of Central Florida’s College of Health and Public Affairs, reviewed archival data from an online survey on victimization, sexuality and health conducted from September 2014 through July 2015.

The analysis looked at responses from 2,159 adults who answered questions about stalking-related experiences — receiving unwanted messages or phone calls and being followed, watched or spied on, for example. The participants, who all answered the same survey, came from three different samples: a U.S. nationwide sexual diversity special interest group, as well as college student and general population adult samples. Not all the respondents had experienced stalking.

Separate survey data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control indicate that stalking is a common, widespread problem.  “In the U.S., 15.8 percent or 1 in 6 women (approximately 19,093,000 women) experienced stalking in her lifetime, during which she felt very fearful or believed that she or someone close to her would be harmed or killed as a result,” according to the CDC’s National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey.  Among American men, 5.3 percent experience stalking in their lifetime, according to that report.

“Stalking is a very traumatic, very disruptive kind of experience, in the same way people experience sexual assault, physical assault,” Nobles said in a recent phone call with Journalist’s Resource. “Stalking isn’t a triviality.”

Nobles said this is part of the reason why he conducted this research – to come up with quantitative estimates for the prevalence of stalking in the general population, with an eye toward potential public policy, prevention and response mechanisms. To that end, the researchers were particularly interested in the demographics and physical and mental health of people who experienced stalking as compared with those who did not.

Here’s what they found:

• Of the respondents who experienced stalking: 41.2 percent disclosed their experiences to friends; 27.3 percent told nobody; 8 percent told a family member;  11.7 percent told the police; 6 percent told a reporting official such as a college counselor; and 3.7 percent told an attorney.  (Respondents could select more than one answer to this question.)
• 13 percent of respondents reported that a perpetrator hurt someone close to them for the purpose of intimidation or revenge. 47.9 percent of respondents received unwanted messages.
• Perpetrators were most commonly ex-boyfriends or ex-girlfriends (24.4 percent) or strangers (15.6 percent).
• Traits associated with stalking victimization were: “female gender, Associates/Bachelor’s level of education, more frequent drug use, and poor mental health,” the authors write. People who were stalked were more likely to be bisexual or have another sexual minority orientation. They also were more likely to have physical health diagnoses of diabetes and hypertension, elevated aggression, stronger coping skills and lower acceptance of rape myths like “she asked for it” and “she lied.”
• Asian Americans, heterosexual people and people with a high school education or less experienced lower risk of stalking.
• Because the survey represents data taken at one point in time, the authors don’t make causal connections – in other words, they don’t suggest whether people with certain characteristics are more likely to be targets of stalking, or whether certain characteristics arise after the experience of stalking. However, according to an analysis of the data, the strongest predictors of whether someone had been stalked were “older age, elevated aggression,” high coping skills, higher impulsivity, “increased symptoms of suicidality and PTSD re-experiencing, and female and other gender minority status.” The authors write that these latter characteristics “are consistent with understanding victimization from trauma-informed and gender-based violence perspectives.”
• Though stalking victims commonly had greater mental health concerns, they had greater coping skills, too. In a phone interview, co-author Robert J. Cramer, an associate professor of community and environmental health at Old Dominion University, noted that in this sense, predictive characteristics of stalking victims include both “risk factors” and “resilience” factors.

Cramer noted that front-line health service providers could bring an awareness of these risk and resilience factors to their practice to facilitate prevention and response to stalking.

Cramer and Nobles noted that more research is required to establish causal links between risk factors and the experience of stalking.

For related research, check out our roundups on sexual harassment and online harassment.

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In 2016, with the help of a successful Kickstarter campaign, Thomas Brennan launched The War Horse, a nonprofit news publication focused on covering war, trauma and veterans’ affairs in the post-9/11 era. (The publication is best known for breaking the story of Marines United, an all-male Facebook group in which members shared nude photos of servicewomen without their consent.)

Having served in the Marine Corps infantry for nine years before pursuing a graduate journalism degree at Columbia University, Brennan has first-hand experience both surviving and writing about trauma. And he knows that trauma reporting can cause further trauma if it isn’t done with care and skill. “The War Horse believes that reporting on trauma comes with a great responsibility,” reads a message on the publication’s website.

With that in mind, Brennan teamed up with Columbia’s Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma to create a set of standards for journalists to follow when interviewing trauma survivors. This is an edited list of those standards — 10 rules for responsible trauma reporting. Brennan has granted Journalist’s Resource permission to publish this list for our audience.

1. Resist the urge to say, “I understand how you feel.” No matter how much you’ve prepared for an interview, you don’t “get it” or “understand” what a source has been through. Every story is unique. Every experience is unique. If our stories aren’t unique, we are doing a disservice to our sources and our readers. Research conditions and circumstances. But once you have done your research, leave it at the door. It doesn’t matter how much knowledge you have on the topic, you can never predict how a particular individual experienced the events personally.

2. Truly prepare for the interview. Reporting on trauma demands special care and increased ethical sensitivity. It requires specialized interviewing skills, understanding of the law, and (at a minimum) a basic awareness about the psychological impact of trauma.

3. Use the term “trauma survivor” rather than “trauma victim.” Get the language correct. People are not “victims” unless they describe themselves that way.

4. Respect a potential interviewee’s right to say no. Nobody should be forced to give every detail about a traumatic event.

5. Take control of providing a safe space for sources to discuss their individual trauma(s). Tread carefully and do not exploit or belittle trauma survivors if they open up to you. If you’ve earned their trust, keep it. The secret to good interviewing is active, non-judgmental listening.

6. Don’t underestimate how your own reactions to traumatic details can influence the conversation. If you are finding the conversation challenging, acknowledge that silently to yourself, and bring your focus back to what is being said. Try to listen a little harder and to observe facial expressions and body language. The time for a journalist to process the personal impact of an interview is after it’s complete, away from the interviewee.

7. Be careful of asking “why” questions — which interrogators tend to favor. Trauma is often associated with high degrees of self-blame, guilt and shame. For this reason, avoid language that might imply the interviewee is responsible in some way. Don’t be surprised if accounts only make partial sense. Frequently survivors of trauma shut down emotionally: Their recall may become or seem fragmented, and in some cases they may have blocked out an event entirely. Incomplete and contradictory accounts are not prima facie evidence of deception, but rather of the struggle interviewees may experience in making sense of what has happened to them.

8. Know that journalists have a responsibility to do everything they can to avoid exposing the interviewee to further abuse and to avoid undermining an interviewee’s standing in the community. Be prepared for survivors to read at least portions of your story before publication, as it can lessen the impact — and possible trauma — of public exposure. (Note: After reading — and seeing evidence of your intentions — an interviewee may decide to share more of the story with you.) Tell the whole story. Sometimes media identify only specific incidents, focusing on the obvious climax. Reporters must understand that a failure to report wholly on a story is, in itself, a form of abuse. Learn how individuals have coped with the trauma in the longer term. Your stories and your relationships will be richer for it.

9. Remember that trauma reporting is an act for the greater good. Utilize information, data, resources and various experiences wisely to provide you with insight and to ensure you’re reporting the truth — not how things appear at first glance. There is never a simple explanation and during your reporting you should be prepared to explore the individual complexities of each story. Speculation has no place in trauma reporting.

10. Look beyond the trauma. A story is never just about what happened. Explore regrets and successes and how your interviewee’s life led up to this point. A person is more than just a singular event. Explore the survivor’s story with the same care, attention to detail and respect that you would want if roles were reversed.

For more tips on war reporting, see this list of safety strategies from the Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma.

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Every year, hundreds of thousands attempt to cross the southwestern border into the United States. These migrants, who largely come from Mexico, El Salvador and Guatemala, face a journey fraught with violence and danger, especially for women.

But those women who attempt to leave their native countries often face certain violence at home. The promise of the migrant trail beckons, even with its perils: Border crossing guides — otherwise known as coyotes — might make their help conditional on sexual favors. Women generally are outnumbered by men and are at risk of assault and rape.

The legal status of these migrants, however, often precludes them from reporting such crimes to the authorities for fear of deportation. While statistics fail to capture the extent of this violence against women (and other forms of violence that occur once undocumented immigrants are settled in the States), academics have given voice to these experiences through research. This roundup focuses on scholarship that describes aspects of the experiences of women on the migrant trail.

“‘One Scar Too Many:’ The Associations Between Traumatic Events and Psychological Distress Among Undocumented Mexican Immigrants: Traumatic Events and Undocumented Mexican American Immigrants”
Garcini, Luz M.; et al. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 2017. DOI: 10.1002/jts.22216.

Abstract: “Undocumented immigration often presents with multiple stressors and contextual challenges, which may diminish mental health. This study is the first to provide population-based estimates for the prevalence of traumatic events and its association to clinically significant psychological distress among undocumented Mexican immigrants in the United States. This cross-sectional study used respondent-driven sampling to obtain and analyze data from clinical interviews with 248 undocumented Mexican immigrants residing in high-risk neighborhoods near the California-Mexico border. Overall, 82.7 percent of participants reported a history of traumatic events, with 47.0 percent of these meeting the criteria for clinically significant psychological distress. After controlling for relevant covariates, having experienced material deprivation, odds ratio (OR) = 2.26, 95 percent CI [1.18, 4.31], p = .013, and bodily injury, OR = 2.96, 95 percent CI [1.50, 5.83], p = .002, and not having a history of deportation, OR = 0.36, 95 percent CI [0.17, 0.79], p = .011, were associated with clinically significant psychological distress. These results support the need to revisit health and immigration policies and to devise solutions grounded in empirical evidence aimed at preventing the negative effects of trauma and psychological distress in this population.”

“The Geography of Border Militarization: Violence, Death and Health in Mexico and the United States”
Slack, Jeremy; et al. Journal of Latin American Geography, 2016. DOI: 10.1353/lag.2016.0009.

Abstract: “Despite proposed increases in spending on personnel and equipment for border enforcement, the complex geography of border militarization and the violence it produces require further examination. We take a geographical perspective to determine the role of violence in both its official forms, such as the incarceration and punishments experienced by undocumented migrants, as well as through abuses and violence perpetrated by agents in shaping border and immigration enforcement. By drawing on the Migrant Border Crossing Study (MBCS), which is a unique data source based on 1,110 surveys of a random sample of deportees, as well as research with family members and return migrants in Puebla, Mexico, we provide an innovative and robust account of the geography of violence and migration. Identifying regional variation allows us to see the priorities and strategic use of violence in certain areas as part of enforcement practice. We assert that understanding the role of violence allows us to explain the prevalence of various forms of abuse, as well as the role of abuse in border enforcement strategies, not as a side effect, but as elemental to the current militarized strategies.”

“‘I Risk Everything Because I Have Already Lost Everything’: Central American Female Migrants Speak Out on the Migrant Trail in Oaxaca, Mexico”
Schmidt, Leigh Anne; Buechler, Stephanie. Journal of Latin American Geography, 2017. DOI: 10.1353/lag.2017.0012.

Abstract: “This article examines Central American women migrants’ decision-making and protective strategies while on the migrant trail. Through feminist research methodologies and social media networks shared by women migrants, this study addresses how physical and economic violence in Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala contributes to women’s decisions to migrate, their migration experiences, and their proactive development of networks while on the migrant trail. In-depth interviews were conducted with female migrants ages 19-46 years old in the migrant shelter ‘Hermanos en el Camino’ in Ixtepec, Oaxaca, and follow-up interviews were conducted in some migrants’ next destinations within Mexico. By including women’s own stories of violence and their formation of migrant networks, this study highlights the lived experiences of women migrants thus making them more visible international actors.”

“Violence and Vulnerability of Female Migrants in Drop Houses in Arizona: The Predictable Outcome of a Chain Reaction of Violence”
Simmons, William Paul; et al. Violence Against Women, 2015. DOI: 10.1177/1077801215573331.

Abstract: “This qualitative research study examines the experiences of immigrant women crossing the U.S./Mexico border and the proliferation of ‘drop houses’ in Arizona as a new phenomenon, one that is often marked by kidnappings and sexual assault. Little research has been published on the violence women face on their journey, and the drop houses have almost completely escaped scholarly analysis. We argue that the drop houses must be seen as a consequence of a ‘state of emergency’ declared by policy makers that led to changes in U.S. national and local immigration policies that fueled what we call a ‘chain reaction of violence.’”

“Gender Mobility: Survival Plays and Performing Central American Migration in Passage”
Brigden, Noelle K. Mobilities, 2018. DOI: 10.1080/17450101.2017.1292056.

Abstract: “Bandits, corrupt officials, travel companions and smugglers rape Central American migrants during their clandestine journey across Mexico. However, migrants do not passively accept this violence; they devise performances of gender to arrive at their destination. Based on over two years of ethnographic fieldwork from El Salvador through Mexico to the United States, this article examines how men and women improvise new understandings of masculinity and femininity as they travel the migrant trail. In the transient social field of the transnational migration route, migrant narratives of the journey are ‘survival plays’ that re-imagine gender.”

“Trauma and Resilience Among Refugee and Undocumented Immigrant Women”
Goodman, Rachael D.; et al. Journal of Counseling & Development, 2017. DOI: 10.1002/jcad.12145.

Abstract: “Migration and resettlement processes are often characterized by stressful and traumatic experiences. Immigrants may experience premigration trauma in their countries of origin and trauma during their migration journey. Furthermore, refugee and undocumented immigrant women navigate unique and ongoing stressors postmigration. In this study, the authors used a phenomenological approach to explore refugee and undocumented immigrant women’s experiences of trauma and stress and the ways in which they develop resilience to cope with these experiences.”

“Somos Hermanas Del Mismo Dolor (We Are Sisters of the Same Pain): Intimate Partner Sexual Violence Narratives Among Mexican Immigrant Women in the United States”
Kim, Tiffany; et al. Violence Against Women, 2017. DOI: 10.1177/1077801216646224.

Abstract: “Migration across international borders places tremendous stress on immigrant families and may put women at greater risk for intimate partner violence. In this study, we used narrative analysis methods to explore how nine Mexican immigrant women in the Northeastern United States described their experiences of intimate partner sexual violence, and how these stories were embedded within narratives of transition and movement across borders. We identified three major themes: The Virgin and the Whore, The Family, and Getting Ahead. We share important implications for researchers and health and social service providers working with this population.”

“The Speed of Life and Death: Migrant Fatalities, Territorial Boundaries, and Energy Consumption”
Nevins, Joseph. Mobilities, 2018. DOI: 10.1080/17450101.2017.1349392.

Abstract: “This article considers how migrant deaths — particularly in the borderlands of Europe and the United States — relate to the speed at which migrants travel. It argues that the most dangerous boundaries for migrants, and the most difficult ones to traverse, are those which embody the sharpest divides in energy consumption, divides reflected in the vulnerability of migrants who typically move at relatively slow speeds and have insufficient access to safe modes of travel. Thus, migrant deaths and the boundaries that produce them embody the injustices associated with grossly unequal levels of access to, control over, and consumption of environmental resources.”

“Risk and Security on the Mexico-to-US Migrant Journey: Women’s Testimonios of Violence” Valencia, Yolanda. Gender, Place & Culture, 2017. DOI: 10.1080/0966369X.2017.1352566.

Abstract: “In this article, I argue that immigrants’ meanings, perceptions, and feelings of risk and (in)security are relational, multi-scalar, and contextual to lived experiences before, during, and after the migration journey. Paying attention to and analyzing Mexican women’s testimonios of intimate experiences uncovers why they migrate, how migration is experienced, and how migrant women frame their lives in the US. In this article, I compare how national and transnational policies of the War on Drugs in Mexico, which increased militarization of the US-Mexico border and created tougher immigration policies in the US (all in the name of US national security), form and transform intimate experiences of risk and (in)security across the migration journey for the same population. This comparative approach challenges and expands US-Mexico literature that does not read across experiences in the three sites of the migration journey.”

“Stuck in the Middle With You: The Intimate Labors of Mobility and Smuggling along Mexico’s Migrant Route”
Vogt, Wendy A. Geopolitics, 2016. DOI: 10.1080/14650045.2015.1104666.

Abstract: “This paper examines some of the intimate, embodied and affective dimensions of mobility for unauthorized Central American migrants in Mexico. While in transit, migrants become implicated within the violence of local and transnational economies of smuggling, organized crime, kidnapping and securitization. At the same time, migrants engage intimate economies of exchange, kinship and care as they negotiate their movements and their lives. Bringing together ethnographic research and transnational feminist scholarship, this paper reconceptualizes human smuggling as a form of intimate labor along migrant routes. I pay particular attention to the ways human smuggling becomes a point of closeness and intimate exchange as migrants and their smugglers strategically re-imagine the borders of kinship. While the types of social relations forged along the journey may defy traditional understandings of smuggling as inherently exploitative, I also examine how such arrangements contribute to new forms of inequality. Through a lens of intimacy, this work contributes new insights on the complex and shifting nature of Mexico’s human smuggling industry and the state policies purportedly aimed to contain it.”

“Crossing Mexico: Structural Violence and the Commodification of Undocumented Central American Migrants: Migration, Violence, and Commodification”
Vogt, Wendy A. American Ethnologist, 2013. DOI: 10.1111/amet.12053.

Abstract: “The undocumented-migrant journey across Mexico has become a site of intense violence, exploitation, and profit making within the logics of capitalism. While transnational migration is often conceptualized from the perspective of sending and receiving communities and borderlands, I suggest the liminal spaces between these zones are crucial sites for understanding how structural forms of violence are reconfigured in local settings. Drawing on my ethnographic fieldwork in migrant shelters located along the journey, I trace how Central American migrants’ bodies, labor, and lives are transformed into commodities within economies of smuggling, extortion, and humanitarian aid. I argue that everyday violence along the journey is produced by historical trajectories of political and criminal violence and by local and global economies that profit from human mobility. As violence is rearticulated at the local level, new tensions and social dislocations emerge between and among social groups.”

Other resources:

• The International Organization for Migration produced a 2014 report titled “Fatal Journeys: Tracking Lives Lost During Migration.” Amnesty International also authored a report in 2010 on immigration, “Invisible Victims: Migrants on the Move in Mexico,” which details some of the violence women experience on the trail.
• Journalist Oscar Martinez published a book on the hardships of immigration, The Beast, Riding the Rails and Dodging Narcos on the Migrant Trail, in 2013.
• U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Government Accountability Office, and the Department of Homeland Security have resources and reports on immigration.

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