JOURNALISM AND TRAUMA

Abstract

Competition for ratings and an ever-increasing public hunger for information have led to an abundance of death and suffering on the local evening news because these topics are both eye catching and attention grabbing. But while a great deal of research exists on journalists who cover war, very little can be found which investigates the local journalist and how they continue to do their jobs in the face of the murders, fatal car accidents and fires which make up the bulk of their daily work. This study sheds light on the subject by applying qualitative research methods to the personal narratives of 26 television reporters and photographers from a large Midwestern television market. By using a framework developed by Baumeister and Newman (1994), this study shows how the way in which these types of experiences are remembered by journalists helps them to continue to do their jobs.

Keywords:

• journalism
• mass media
• reporters and photographers
• television news
• trauma
• violence