Covering traumatic news stories: Factors associated with post‐traumatic stress disorder among journalists

Abstract

The current study examined personal and environmental factors that placed 167 U.S. journalists from diverse media organizations at risk for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after covering work-related traumatic stories. These factors included exposure to traumatic stressors in their personal lives, work-related traumatic stressors, and general organizational stressors. Further, personality attributes and coping styles associated with risk and resiliency were examined. Regression analyses identified avoidant emotional coping, higher levels of perceived organizational stressors, intensity of exposure to work-related traumatic stressors, and personal trauma history as statistically significant risk factors for PTSD. The results provide empirical support for the negative impact of organizational stressors and avoidant emotional coping on journalists covering trauma-related stories. Understanding the organizational climate journalists are working in, as well as the manner in which journalists manage work-related stressors, is important in the development of a more comprehensive model of who may develop work-related PTSD symptoms. Opportunities for news organizations to reduce PTSD risk among journalists are discussed.

The elephant in the newsroom: Current research on journalism and emotion

“…The severity of mental‐health problems also depends on whether the journalist is exposed to ethical dilemmas and whether she feels work‐related guilt (Backholm & Idås, ; see also Kotisova, ). There are also organizational stressors: diverse circumstances related to journalists' working conditions such as everyday pressure, requirements in the newsroom, low pay, media competition, implementing new technology, and conflict between work and family life (Backholm, ; Reinardy, ; Smith, Drevo, & Newman, ; see also Hesmondhalgh & Baker, ). Furthermore, there are extra‐organizational factors that influence journalists' emotional and mental well‐being such as public debate and criticism related to journalistic work and ethics (Kotisova, ; Backholm, ).…”

Reducing Affective Responses to Surgical Images and Videos Through Stylization

“…skin diseases), as well as user‐generated content featuring nudity and pornography, injuries or violence. These can psychologically impact professionals who report [Joh18, Juk17, SDN18] or monitor it [FAW14]. In particular, pornography is often found inadvertently by users and especially young audiences [Hal14, LSG*18, MMA*16, SP14, WTSHS15] while browsing for information.…”

In the Aftermath of a Massacre: Traumatization of Journalists Who Cover Severe Crises

“…Before discussing the first research question, it is worthwhile discussing briefly why the issue of psychological impairment in journalists is important. We know that most news journalists will work with an unfolding crisis at some point during their career (Smith, Newman, & Drevo, 2015). Such work may take place on the actual scene during the acute phase of the event, as in the Stockholm case, or back at the head office when listening to upsetting eyewitness accounts during phone interviews or studio live broadcasts.…”

“…Although most journalists work with crises at some point, only a minority are specialized war correspondents or conflict zone reporters. Most journalists work like the one in the attack cited above -that is, with news assignments in general in organizations where high-stress cases are the exception rather than the rule (Smith et al, 2015). Both specialized conflict reporters and other journalists should be offered relevant organizational crisis assignment preparation and support systems -but for the latter group, such support may often be underdeveloped, or organizations ill prepared.…”

“…What, then, are the most common forms of long-term impairment in journalists? To date, a clear majority of studies have focused on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD; Aoki et al, 2013;Smith et al, 2015). We therefore have relatively detailed information about this anxiety-related disorder compared to other types of possible impairment such as depression, burnout and substance abuse MacDonald, Saliba, Hodgins, & Ovington, 2016).…”