Creating a Trauma-Aware Newsroom

1. Creating aTrauma-Aware Newsroom PPI-NUJP Seminar on Journalism and TraumaJanuary 28-29, 2012

2. Journalists are resilient but… “I’ve been immersed in it too long. My spirit is wobbly and my mind is confused. The hurt has become too great.” War Correspondent Ernie Pyle, shortly before he died in1945

3. Workshop • What works for you? Identify at least 5 techniques that can help if a colleague has been through a difficult coverage

4. Promoting trauma-awareness in thenewsroom

5. From Dart, based on tsunami coverage experience in Haiti: • Allow people to seek help without the fear that it could have a derogatory effect on their careers • While most journalists may be most comfortable talking to other journalists, it is crucial that management find a way to bridge the gap and connect and communicate with their reporters

6. Advice to news managers by Don Fry, a coaching guru connected with Poynter: • Lay out a time frame with a beginning, middle and an end: There needs to be coaching for their emotional well being before they go, while they are on the scene, and when they return. • Brief reporters on what they might expect, such as seeing mangled bodies and fellow humans in pain. People tend to handle things better if they have an idea of what they might face and what form it might take.

7. Appoint a “duty editor” to take calls from staff in the field. That person becomes the main contact for updates on the newsgathering process and for journalists to share feelings about what they are witnessing. Be available. • Send a strong message to staff on the frontlines of the crisis: “Don’t let yourself get isolated.” Require them to call the office to stay in touch. Set a schedule if possible.

8. From Joe Hight, managing editor of The Oklahoman: • Offer meals to reporters and editors during the first days or weeks of coverage. Then gradually end these so they will be encouraged to go elsewhere, signaling a return to normalcy. • Ask if they have problems, then listen. Encourage them to talk to others who have faced similar situations. • Allow staff to take breaks and get away from the coverage. Encourage participation in a family gathering, attend a sports event, or see a movie. The point is that they need to get away, even for a brief time.

9. Encourage staffers to help themselves. Post reminders in the newsroom or send emails about ways to relieve stress. Offer confidential counseling for those who want it and informal newsroom debriefings. The most important thing: remind them to share feelings and talk to those they trust. • Offer praise for the hard and difficult work the staff is doing.

10. From Dart Center: Tips for managing those who cover traumatic events: • Remember: • Everyone in your newsroom may be affected differently. Some may be affected immediately while others will take days, weeks, months or even years to see the effect. The journalists who either claim or seem to be the most unfazed by the event may, in fact, be affected the most. • Personal problems will exacerbate an individual’s reaction. For example, a staff member who is going through a divorce may be affected more than others.

11. Some of the staff members may show signs when they have been particularly affected. Tiredness, irritability and lashing out are three common ones, whether they occur inside or outside the newsroom. Encourage supervisors and reporters alike to listen and watch for them. • Appoint a person to monitor the staff’s well-being who can make recommendations to you about it. • Offer individual counseling. Also, plan group meetings to explain available resources, tone of coverage, what staff members can do to help themselves and each other, and possible outlets, such as peer support. Do not expect staff members to reveal intimate details about themselves during these gatherings. • Provide e-mails or memos that offer encouragement, acknowledgment that their work is having an impact on the community, reminders, what day and date it is, tips to alleviate stress, and positive letters and notes from readers about their coverage.

12. Examples after Sept. 11, 2001, include memos from William E. Schmidt, associate managing editor of The New York Times, and the following excerpt from a memo by Henry Freeman, editor of The Journal News in White Plains, N.Y.: We will cover the news, and we will continue to perform at the highest journalistic levels. Our readers need us now more than ever. What we do every day — especially now — is important. But, it is also important that you take care of yourself. And that we take care of each other. Thank you for the privilege and honor of being your editor. • Encourage staffers to do things to help themselves. Post tips on bulletin boards and include them in memos and e-mails.

13. Some of the issues that should be addressed: • Taboos and stigmas in the profession about psychological support that need to be challenged • What constitutes good journalistic practice in the representation of traumatic stories • Prevention of unnecessary post-traumatic stress responses in journalists • Social support for the families of journalists working through trauma (since based on the recognition that traumatized journalists with good social support are less likely to develop pathological post-traumatic stress responses) • The need for monitoring the suitability of journalists to be sent to war zones, in terms of their psychological and mental stability and level of experience and training. • Journalists’ ability to recognize and if necessary decline unsuitable opportunities

14. Peer Support

15. Role of Peer Support • Building resilience / self-care • Confidentiality • Referral • Role of Managers • Support for Peer Supporters • Practical Support

16. Peer support DVD

17. Guidelines for effective listening and dialogue with journalists FINE: An active listening methodology Facts (What happened?) Impact (What are your thoughts and feelings?) Now (How are you now?) Education (These feelings are normal.)

18. Guidelines for effective listening and dialogue with journalists Do’s and Dont’s • Don’t say “I know just how you feel” • Don’t diagnose—do not make them feel as if there is something wrong with them. • Do establish active eye contact • Do provide minimal response—reflect and summarize, but do not offer opinion, and avoid advice. • Respect silence.

19. When to refer • When they are experiencing any symptoms that are causing distress, significant changes in relationships, or are impairing functioning at work • When they are self-medicating with drugs or alcohol • They are unable to find relief with self-care strategies discussed. • If you feel out of your depth

20. Workshop • How can we promote trauma awareness in the newsroom? Identify at least 5 concrete measures that can be undertaken.

21. RESOURCES • International Center for Journalists: http://www.icfj.org • Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma: http://www.dartcenter.org • Poynter Institute for Media Studies: http://www.poynter.org • Committee to Protect Journalists: http://www.cpj.org • International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies: http://www.istss.org • International News Safety Institute: http://www.newssafety.com • National Press Photographers Association: http://www.nppa.org • International Crisis Group: http://www.crisisweb.org • Institute for War and Peace Reporting: http://www.iwpr.net