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Dr. Elana Newman, co-leader of Dart Center Ground Zero, identified
various emotional and psychological responses among traumatized
journalists in post-Sept. 11 New York.
First, Newman found war correspondents were stunned when their
perceived safe home became a war zone. "Many of them didn't realize
how difficult it was to go back (to covering war) in a conflict
zone," Newman said.
International journalists, stationed in New York and isolated
from colleagues after the attack, also sought and needed support
services.
Student journalists on college newspapers also needed support,
she noted. While journalism students usually had opportunities
to talk about coverage stresses in the classroom, newspaper staffers
often lacked that opportunity.
However, Newman added, "Doing good journalism is a good coping
skill." Some journalists took solace in their work but didn't
have time to realize they were mentally and physically exhausted.
Others were directly affected by the attacks. They experienced
personal loss, possibly the death of a friend or relative.
"It's difficult to be a survivor and a reporter," Newman said.
"They had a double challenge." These reporters told stories of
the lives lost, but Newman said the articles were essentially
about dealing with their own loss. The majority of journalists
did their job and moved on.
"They were distressed, they were exhausted, they had a lot of
difficulty, as did most of America," Newman said, "and (the trauma)
was nothing major or long-lasting."
Newman and DCGZ co-leader Barbara Monseu identified fear as a
significant emotional response among reporters. The resources
DCGZ provided helped address that fear. They hope more and more
journalists continue to seek the Dart Center's trauma education
and support resources.
"Journalists are often first on the scene," the two wrote in
their DCGZ report, "yet their emotional needs are by-and-large
ignored."
"Because journalists work so hard after crises or long-term breaking
news stories," Newman added, "it isn't until much later that they
have time to reflect on what happened to them."
"Journalists," she said, "need to develop skills to cover the
story while taking care of their own emotional, psychological
and physical needs."
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