they are in the U.S. The University of Washington uses actors,
playing the roles of victims to give their students some idea
of what it is like to deal with a traumatised person. Michigan
State University uses real victims in its training.
These kinds of programs are groundbreakers, but there’s a huge
block of journalists it doesn’t get to...editors, senior reporters
and photojournalists. Media outlets will often demand that
these practitioners be retrained and refreshed in writing skills,
editing skills, production skills, but trauma is often forgotten.
From my study, I have made some recommendations, an extract
of which follows. But first of all it should be noted that there
is no ‘one size fits all’ in the handling of psychological trauma.
While one culture might naturally talk about it, another might
not. And within a culture, social groupings, sexes, professions,
religious grouping will too work in different ways. So these
recommendations must always be considered in light of this
cultural setting. It should be up to the editor or/and training
manager to decide how they should be applied.
MID-CAREER TRAINING
Given the recency of psychological trauma training for
journalism students, it is highly unlikely today’s mid-career
journalists have had any training in trauma at university level.
These journalists need specific training, using professional
psychotherapists or psychologists, perhaps in short lunchtime
sessions (to avoid newsroom disruption).
MANAGEMENT TRAINING
Managing editors also need education, so they know how to
support their staff, and how to look for signs of trauma. The
training might be done in existing management courses.
PEER COUNSELLORS
Peers are used in emergency services groups around the world.
Having Peer Counsellors, who are themselves experienced
journalists, is a cheap and highly beneficial asset. They are
already there. The cost would be a peer counselling training
session. With many young journalists being sent onto
assignments involved death and trauma (police rounds; courts
etc), peer counsellors is a resource which would be a ‘first
point’...to help early in the process. They would encourage a
“help each other” attitude. Also, it makes up for journalists’
traditional reticence to seek help, for fear it might be
interpreted as a sign of weakness to other workers, and also,
sadly, to themselves.
The trauma
of journalism
BUDDY SYSTEMS
Newsrooms might consider pairing inexperienced journalists
with those who are more experienced working in traumatising
situations. The benefits are that the inexperienced journalists
can observe interviews with people in crisis situations; and
the experienced journalist can watch out for sign of trauma
in their inexperienced colleague. It is not unreasonable to
assume that journalists who work alone are more likely to be
affected by the stories they cover. So there might be benefit
to the experienced journalist too.
COMPULSORY COUNSELLING
Professor Roger Simpson from the University of Washington
says that his studies found that after the Oklahoma bombing,
voluntary counselling had little effect. At another event a
year later, COMPULSORY counselling had a big impact.
This is
something that might be considered by management in some
workplaces in some situations (but in by no means all).
Compulsory counselling will help to overcome journalists’ self-
image and fear that by going to a counsellor they will be
placing their career at risk. The drawback is that in some
cases the journalist may resent the counselling…and this will
work against its effectiveness.
Personal Responsibility
It is essential that journalists too bear responsibilities for their
own development. In many countries I heard journalists (even
surprisingly senior ones) claim de facto powerlessness to effect
change in the workplace, or to decide their professional fate, or
to be educated in a certain field. It is the nature of journalists
to assert their power in everyday reporting (by daring to ask the
difficult-to-ask; by approaching person who, instinct might
suggest, is better left alone; by demanding free information; by
asserting the public’s right to know). When it comes to self-
development, professional choices and mid-career training, these
journalists should be just as assertive. It is an on-going
responsibility. An ineffective or untrained journalist is not just
an employer’s fault.
The Churchill Trust was established is an Australian Trust in 1965. The
principal object of the Trust is to perpetuate and honour the memory
of Sir Winston Churchill – who died in 1965 – through the award of
Travelling Fellowships known as Churchill Fellowships. These provide
financial support to enable ordinary Australians from all walks of life
to undertake a period of overseas study, or an investigative project,
that cannot be readily undertaken in Australia.
A full version of Phil Kafcaloudes’ report is on the Churchill website at
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