Career Development : Calendar

Make it stop: Reporter burnout and the endless pandemic

09/15/21

Sept. 15, 1 p.m. ET

It's been more than a year and a half since reporters were thrust into the daily challenge of reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic, and there's still no end in sight. It's been a bruising struggle for the high ground against misinformation, disinformation and often very personal attacks on social media and in real life by news media-haters and science-rejecters. The strain of bearing witness to other people's pain — on top of the personal losses many reporters have suffered — has made a hard job even more difficult. Is there a way to do this kind of work and stay psychologically healthy? The answer is yes. Find out how.

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• Elana Newman, Ph.D. is McFarlin Professor of Psychology at the University of Tulsa, research director of the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, and co-director of the University of Tulsa Institute of Trauma, Adversity, and Injustice. She is a journalist ally & expert in traumatic stress studies. Throughout her career, Newman has researched a wide range of topics regarding traumatic life events: PTSD assessment in children and adults, journalism and trauma, veterans, disaster mental health, substance abuse, sexual assault, therapy, cultural issues, and trauma,  and trauma research ethics. Together with a colleague, she fostered the creation and acceptance of the APA New Haven Competencies/Guidelines on Trauma Competencies for Education and Training. Her scholarly work in journalism and trauma focuses on understanding the occupational health of journalists who cover traumatic events and examining the effects of journalistic practice upon consumers and individuals covered in the news. Newman has overseen the development of a bibliographic database about journalism and trauma to aid teachers and scholars in identifying information about trauma and journalism (see www.dartcenter.org). She helps journalists learn about trauma science, best psychological practices for interviewing survivors, self-care, best newsroom practices and consider other ways psychological knowledge may be relevant to journalistic practice. Newman also trains organizations, professionals, clinicians, and researchers on how they can better collaborate with journalists. Newman regularly consults to a range of organizations, attorneys, businesses and about trauma science, resilience building, self-care, trauma-informed practice. Newman also serves as a writing consultant for those working on trauma-related topics. Newman co-directed the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma’s first satellite office in NYC after 9-11. Newman is a past president of the International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies.

• Naseem Miller is senior health editor at The Journalist's Resource, a project of Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center. Prior to JR she was the senior health reporter at the Orlando Sentinel, where she covered the Pulse Nightclub mass shooting. In 2017, she helped start the Journalists Covering Trauma Facebook group to create a supportive space for reporters who cover tragic events. She has an undergraduate degree in molecular and microbiology and a master’s degree in multimedia journalism and public affairs.

• Katti Gray is AHCJ's core topic leader for behavioral and mental health. A former Rosalynn Carter Mental Health Journalism Fellow, Gray provides resources to help AHCJ members expand their coverage of mental health amid ongoing efforts to de-stigmatize mental illness and to place mental health care on par with all health care.

• Caroline Chen is an investigative reporter covering health care at ProPublica. Her stories on the pandemic were part of the coverage that earned ProPublica a finalist nomination for the Pulitzer Prize in public service.

• Katherine Reed will moderate and is director of education and content and a longtime member of AHCJ. She was a professor of practice in the Missouri School of Journalism for 17 years and an editor at the Columbia Missourian. She designed and taught a course on covering trauma and a course for STEM field and journalism students on improving science communication.