"In many transitional and conflict societies self-censorship is employed as a coping mechanism or survival strategy (Skjerdal, 2010; Tapsell, 2012). Recent research has examined self-censorship by journalists in countries in which there have been and continue to be media support and safety intervent
...
ions. In some of these transitional and conflict-affected countries journalists routinely censor themselves to avoid jail, while others do so to avoid assassination or physical violence (Freedom House, 2018; Bar-Tal, 2015). Violent conflict has a negative effect on the free flow of information, in part due to self-censorship which impoverishes public debate (Bar-Tal, 2015). There has been limited discussion of the impacts of self-censorship among journalists on peacebuilding. This chapter will examine the chain of causality between traumatized journalists, self-censorship and peacebuilding and will suggest solutions to bolster journalistic communities in the context of trauma, fear and self-censorship." (Abstract)
more
"Features guidance from some of the industry’s most successful news correspondents and documentary makers, including Louis Theroux, Lucy Williamson, Tulip Mazumdar, Richard Bilton, Jina Moore and many more, all sharing their experience and expertise. It also features people who chose to tell their
...
sensitive stories to journalists, giving readers invaluable insight into what helped and what harmed." (Publisher description)
more
"In recent years, resilience training has been recommended as a way to protect news workers from the impact of reporting on traumatic events. However, do journalists see it as a useful tool in dealing with online abuse and harassment? This article explores Australian journalists’ conceptions of re
...
silience training, via a thematic analysis of interviews, and their concerns about its effectiveness in addressing digital violence. The study adopts an ethics of care framework for understanding the uses of resilience training in journalism education for increasing dialogic interaction with audiences. It finds that while some journalists understand resilience training’s relationship to positive mental health, the majority are not clear about its potential and how it might be taught. Our analysis also reveals normative beliefs about journalists’ need to develop ‘a thick skin’ against interpersonal and coordinated violence online. Overall, the article raises questions about how journalists might be better oriented to not only self-care but also collective care." (Abstract)
more
"The aim of this chapter is to describe Mexican journalists' responses to constant threats and aggressions. In doing so, it draws on 93 semi-structured interviews conducted in 23 of the most violent states of the country. The results indicate that violence against news workers has a twofold set of i
...
mplications for the practice of professional journalism: On the one hand, constant attacks on media staff have promoted the development of a more elaborated journalistic performance, based upon factual reporting, diversification of sources, collaborative coverage, and the creation of journalists' associations. On the other hand, however, in many cases the same situation has also inhibited reporters' and newsrooms' jobs by forcing them to self-censorship and the dependence on government official versions of sensitive issues such as crime news or corruption, amongst other passive routines. The simultaneous coexistence of both outcomes provides evidence of the operation of multiple journalisms within the Mexican media system." (Abstract)
more
"If you have asked someone to cover a story for you, you have a legal and ethical duty of care to that person. The legal aspects may vary between jurisdictions, but increasingly courts are considering these issues and in at least one case (in Australia) have ruled against the news organization, in a
...
case related to an employee. While the impact of these legal actions may not flow to all jurisdictions and to the freelance relationship, no news organization can assume that their responsibilities for responding to trauma as it affects their staff, including freelancers, are minimal. It is no longer possible for news organizations to ignore the evidence about the potential impact of covering trauma as a news gatherer. As a manager, you need to understand, manage and respond to these risks before, during and after the freelancer works on the assignment. This guide is designed to help you understand and support your team. It is divided into five sections covering both general information and specific suggestions and tips for working with freelancers." (Page 4)
more
"Afghanistan is one of the world’s most dangerous places for journalists. There are, however, no data on the mental health of Afghan journalists covering conflict in their country. The study aims to determine the degree to which Afghan journalists are exposed to traumatic events, their perceptions
...
of organizational support, their rates of symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression, their utilization of mental health services and the effectiveness of the treatment received.
Design/methodology/approach: The entire study was undertaken in Dari (Farsi). Five major Afghan news organizations representing 104 journalists took part of whom 71 (68%) completed a simple eleven-point analog scale rating perceptions of organizational support. Symptoms of PTSD and depression were recorded with the Impact of Event Scale – Revised (IES-R) and the Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), respectively. Behavioral comparisons were undertaken between those journalists who had and had not received mental health therapy.
Findings: The majority of journalists exceeded cutoff scores for PTSD and major depression and reported high rates for exposure to traumatic events. There were no significant differences in IES-R and CES-D scores between journalists who had and had not received mental health therapy. Most journalists did not view their employers as supportive.
Originality/value: To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to collect empirical data on the mental health of Afghan journalists. The results highlight the extreme stressors confronted by them, their correspondingly high levels of psychopathology and the relative ineffectiveness of mental health therapy given to a minority of those in distress. The implications of these findings are discussed." (Abstract)
more
"The dynamic nature of reporting requires journalists to interrogate their emotions as well as their sense of professionalism. This article focuses on the complex relationship between emotionality and professionalism mediated by journalists who reported on cases of genocide. This extraordinary confl
...
ict situation provides a unique lens from which to explore the personal and professional resolve of journalists. Utilising interviews with UK journalists that reported on genocides in Rwanda and Srebrenica, this article develops a framework which characterises journalistic emotional labour as distinct, multi-faceted and somewhat contradictory. While participants described reporting as a focused, professional process in which emotions were silenced, the instinctual element and residual emotional toll associated with reporting on genocide demonstrates emotionality was not entirely absent. This article therefore provides a future template from which to explore emotional labour as part of a transformative relationship between journalists’ emotionality and professionalism." (Abstract)
more
"Covering traumatic story assignments is often central to a journalist’s job. Violent crimes, natural disasters, and tragic personal struggles—these are newsworthy events. Studies have associated trauma coverage with higher rates of posttraumatic stress disorder, burnout, and other traumatic str
...
ess symptoms in reporters. This study uses a survey of print journalists (N = 254) and qualitative interview data to examine the extent that higher education journalism programs helped prepare reporters for covering trauma. Respondents who reported receiving some type of education about trauma journalism reported higher levels of trauma literacy, defined as an awareness of the potential effects of trauma and adaptive coping mechanisms. Results indicate the power of education to produce more prepared journalists. More than half (53%) of respondents reported never having received any type of education related to crisis reporting or covering trauma. A subset of respondents (n = 24) from the sample were interviewed about the extent of their journalism education, their experiences covering traumatic assignments, and their feelings of preparedness on the job." (Abstract)
more
"Journalists are often first responders and eyewitnesses to violent news events. Trauma reporting can take its toll, resulting in mental health effects. Addressing the solution requires understanding the problem. This multimethod study used a national survey of journalists (N = 254) that shows that
...
as trauma coverage frequency and intensity increase, so does the severity of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. In-depth interviews offer personal narratives of effects from traumatic reporting. Common coping mechanisms include disconnecting from work in various ways, purging emotions, talking about trauma, and remembering their jobs’ higher purposes. Suggestions include humanizing the newsroom and teaching about trauma reporting." (Abstract)
more
"An overview of current research on the occupational hazards for journalists covering traumatic events, the risk factors that aggravatethose effects, and some suggestions for mitigating those factors." (Introduction)
"Journalism has always been an unsafe practice in modern Turkey. However, ties between the political system and democracy have been severed by the recent witch-hunt following the most recent failed coup, in 2016, and the subsequent societal collapse triggered by the administration of the state of em
...
ergency. In fact, mass and commercial journalism culture, whose foundations were built upon the post- World War II efforts to create a democratization trend and the transition to the multi-party system, were never strong enough to generate a sustainable liberal-pluralist set of media norms as in the West. Instead, a media system that serves the needs of political and economic power elites was both established and entrenched (Adakl*, 2006; Kaya, 2009)." (Abstract)
more
"Drawing from 93 semi-structured, in-person interviews with journalists from 23 states, this article analyzes the relation between trust and risk perception in Mexican journalism. It focuses on how Mexican journalists perceive and experience public trust placed in them as social actors, and how it i
...
nfluences their willingness or reluctance to assume the risks associated with reporting on corruption and drug-trafficking in a country marked by anti-press violence. The findings challenge previous studies as they show that journalists from all regions of the country –even in the so-called safe states– are fearful, even when they have not been victims of threats, beatings or kidnappings. Also, it explains that the connection between institutions and journalism makes news workers feel unprotected and unaccompanied. As a result, they accept self-censorship and even express a willingness to resign. Thus, this article surpasses the social, spatial and temporal delimitations of risk, by arguing that distrust in journalists increases the dangers they face." (Abstract)
more
"In digitalized media societies, many journalists encounter audience hostility in publicly visible channels. Scholars theorized on the spiral process of the influence of audience feedback on journalists’ editorial work. In this spiral, audience feedback on past news coverage influences ongoing new
...
s coverage, producing audience feedback that influences ongoing news coverage, and so forth. We study an empirically accessible, meaningful sequence of this process – influences of journalists’ significant previous experiences of publicly visible audience hostility on the ways in which they cope with resulting anticipations of audience hostility in their editorial work. Based on a survey of German print journalists (n*=*323), we find hints that journalists’ significant previous experiences of publicly visible audience hostility can influence their news coverage in two ways. In line with previous research, we find that some journalists reacted to past significant incidents of publicly visible audience hostility with negative emotions and appraisals. This explains their proneness to complying with anticipated audience hostility. Other journalists took pleasure in significant previous incidents of publicly visible audience hostility and viewed them as a professional success. This explains their proneness to defying anticipated audience hostility. We discuss these findings in light of the political polarization of societies." (Abstract)
more
"95 per cent of journalists killed in armed conflict are locally based journalists. While there has been increasing focus on the physical and digital safety issues these journalists face, there has been less attention towards the need for psychosocial support. Addressing psychosocial needs of local
...
journalists must become a higher priority to better provide for their well-being as they are impacted by psychologically traumatizing events happening around them. The context of local journalists in covering such events is very different from their international correspondent colleagues. This paper will discuss the cross-country lessons, as well as the challenges, surrounding psychosocial issues as part of the holistic theme of safety of journalists. Researchers have shown how journalists, particularly war correspondents, are affected by the work they do. But there has been little examination of the effects on local journalists or fixers for international media who live and work covering violence, conflicts or disasters that impact them directly. This paper will look at how trauma support considered mainstream in Western countries might be adapted for local journalists, examples of psychosocial support that have been used in different contexts such as the Middle East, Asia and Latin America and offer considerations in conducting further research into this area moving forward." (Abstract)
more
"This open access book explores the emotional labour of crisis reporters in an original style that combines fictional and factual narrative. Exploring how journalists make sense of their emotional experience and development in relation to their professional ideology, it illustrates how media profess
...
ionals learn to think and act within crisis situations. Drawing on in-depth interviews with journalists reporting on wars, terror attacks and natural disasters, the book rethinks traditional concepts in journalistic thought. Finally, it reflects on the specific, contemporary vulnerabilities of industry professionals, including the impact of new technologies, specific forms of precarity, and a particular strain of cynicism central to the industry. Combining comprehensive, empirical research with the fictional narrative of a journalist protagonist, the book establishes an innovative approach to academic storytelling." (Publisher description)
more
"While using qualitative and quantitative techniques, this study analyzes the issues and challenges faced by the journalists while working in the areas going under military operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and FATA. Based on the hierarchy of influences model, a survey was conducted in Wazirista
...
n, Swat and Peshawar. A total of 185 local journalists from Swat, North Waziristan and Peshawar are selected and interviewed. The research found various psychological and visible impacts on journalists reporting from conflict areas. They face challenges like governmental and organizational pressure, safety hazards and bars on freedom of access to news sources. Low perks and privileges, facilities to perform their professional duties and demanding standards for local journalists. The war journalists were dissatisfied with their professions and many were thinking to quit their jobs. In the qualitative technique of semi-structured interviews, the survey findings were supported and integrated with the large issues of media control and geo-strategic considerations." (Abstract)
more
"Afghan journalists have been experiencing a deteriorating situation, due to a multitude of threats. They operate in a situation of low popular literacy, as well as low media literacy. Threats from Taliban and other insurgents cause many journalists to live in constant fear. This article is based on
...
interviews with 28 Afghan journalists. They report that they are less willing to take risks than before, their editors even less so. Routines are far from always in place in media institutions, and quite a few journalists have not received necessary security equipment. Almost all report experiencing post-traumatic stress syndrome, some have even experienced physical harm. We conclude by stating that Afghan journalists are caught in a balancing act, facing powerful violent insurgents, oppressive authorities and media owners." (Abstract)
more
"The trend in international newsgathering is to greater reliance on local journalists and fixers to provide crucial information to a global audience. At the same time, these local journalists are themselves becoming targets of violence. Increasingly, local journalists are being killed in the line of
...
fire. Their deaths create stress for their colleagues, families and communities. It remains a challenge to discern areas in which the global community can provide support to journalists in these circumstances. As long as we continue to rely on fixers and local journalists for news and information from hot spots around the world, we must also provide them with adequate support to mitigate risk, including to their mental health. Local journalists, such as those in the Central African Republic, are one of the most likely groups of journalists to experience psychological trauma, thanks to the implicit risks of their work, combined with public pressure to provide news from these situations. What support can be provided to these journalists and how can it best meet the specific needs of such a community? Can we promote resiliency? The first step is to acknowledge the dearth of relevant research on mental health and psychosocial support for local journalists in conflict or emergency settings.There is a need for research on the kinds of trauma (and resilience) that journalists experience and their causes, including impacts on the individual and colleagues and impacts on the work … Second, "little has been done to develop treatments based on local coping styles, culture-specific idioms of distress, and culturally appropriate helping methods" (de Jong 2017, 209) … Third, any training efforts of journalists should be accompanied with mental health and psychosocial support … Finally, the United Nations has adopted the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity This may at least give some wider symbolic support to journalists who are victims of traumatic attacks. Ultimately, there must be a recognition that the mental health of the journalist can have an impact on their reporting - something that is particularly critical in conflict environments." (Conclusion)
more
"The literature on public figures attacked by their audiences is unclear why female and male figures react differently to attacks. This study examines why female journalists are more likely than male journalists to use avoidance strategies as a reaction to online attacks. Avoidance includes limiting
...
audience engagement, adapting reporting behavior, and thinking about quitting journalism. Drawing on social role theory and gender stereotypes, this study contrasts two explanatory hypotheses. The results, based on mediation analyses of online survey data of 637 journalists representative of Switzerland, show that women are more likely than men to use avoidance strategies because women are more stressed by attacks. This heightened stress is argued to result from differences in gender role socialization. In contrast, while women are somewhat more severely attacked than men, this cannot explain their greater probability of avoidance. Results contribute a theoretically and empirically rich explanation of gendered reactions to attacks." (Abstract)
more