Challenges and Dangers of Reporting in a Tumultuous Border Region

Abstract

Journalists at the El Paso Times routinely cover violence in neighboring Ciudad Juarez, where thousands of men, women, and children have been murdered in recent years. Utilizing border theory and research involving journalists and trauma, this qualitative newsroom study examines how journalists at the El Paso Times are dramatically affected by their daily exposure to the unrelenting violence in this border region. The study recommends that newsroom management provide journalists with the necessary resources and support that will help them cope.

Acculturation, family cohesion, and mental health among Latinos living with HIV on the U.S.-Mexico border.

“…We strengthened the validity of our mediation analysis by removing general distress items from our PTSD measure, such as trouble falling or staying asleep or loss of interest in things you used to enjoy, and including only items that assessed unique PTSD symptom clusters: (a) avoidance/numbing, (b) reexperiencing the event, and (c) hyperarousal symptoms. Thus, diminished family cohesion was associated with unique PTSD symptoms, which may compound the effects of abuse and trauma commonly reported among PLWH (Sherr et al, 2011) or the effects of recent violence across the border in Ciudad Juárez (Borunda, 2010; Carter & Kodrich, 2013). However, we were not able to directly assess exposure to trauma in Ciudad Juárez or the surrounding areas of Mexico and can only speculate about the nature of our participants’ exposures.…”

Coping with the Murder: The Impact of Ján Kuciak’s Assassination on Slovak Investigative Journalists

“…First, the violent death of a co-worker and a fellow journalist is a major life event that considerably impacts psychological well-being and can contribute to a re-evaluation of professional and personal responsibilities, and lead to changes in daily practices (Novak and Davidson 2013). Journalists are often reluctant to talk about the emotional strain of their jobs, and many find it difficult to deal with their own emotions (Carter and Kodrich 2013). They use different coping strategies to manage the effects of stress and trauma (Seely 2019;Monteiro and Pinto 2017;Monteiro, Pinto and Roberto 2016;Novak and Davidson 2013;Soerjoatmodjo 2011;Buchanan and Keats 2011;Himmelstein and Faithorn 2002).…”

“…They use different coping strategies to manage the effects of stress and trauma (Seely 2019;Monteiro and Pinto 2017;Monteiro, Pinto and Roberto 2016;Novak and Davidson 2013;Soerjoatmodjo 2011;Buchanan and Keats 2011;Himmelstein and Faithorn 2002). However, the literature on stress, trauma, and coping in journalism mostly focuses on the effects of covering traumatic events within war/conflict/combat journalism (e.g., Feinstein, Osmann, and Patel 2018;Feinstein, Owen, and Blair 2002;Feinstein and Starr 2015), or domestic journalism (e.g., Carter and Kodrich 2013;Backholm and Björkqvist 2010;Newman, Simpson, and Handschuh 2003). Yet, stress and trauma may not only arise as results of covering wars and accidents.…”