TALKING TRAUMA
We spoke to Managing Director of Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma Asia Pacific, Cait McMahon, on the importance of supportive newsroom environments and ways journalists can better prepare themselves and their sources when facing trauma.
Could you tell us a little bit about why the Dart Centre was formed? In your opinion, what was it that saw the need for such an organisation in the media?
The Dart Centre began officially in regards to training journalists about ethical and appropriate reporting, when reporting on the victims and survivors of trauma. So it was about the craft of 'trauma journalism' if you like, about teaching the skills that are needed when journalists are dealing with people who are affected by trauma.
Secondly, it grew out of an awareness that journalists themselves were also being impacted upon when covering these stories, so this became another arc to the Dart Centre, concerned also about the impact of trauma on those who actually gather the news. So it was sort of a two-pronged beginning, if you like.
Before beginning at the Dart Centre you were the staff counsellor at The Age.
Broadly, can you tell us what sort of issues you saw journalists dealing with there?
That was in the very early days! I was there in the late 80's and early 90's. But what I saw occurring then was, after covering a story of trauma, journalists would very quietly come back to their desks and be obviously affected, but no one was doing anything about it - managers and colleagues weren't reaching out to each other. People might have been a bit distressed, but no one knew how to handle it. So after seeing this, I became very interested in dealing with that, I wanted to help organisations and also my peers to become more "trauma aware." Since then however, I have seen significant shifts in terms of organisational awareness about trauma.
There appears to be a ‘tough’ and ‘emotionally resilient’ stigma attached to being a journalist. But when covering something that’s emotionally overwhelming, do you think it’s right for journalists to be expected to be tough?
Look I think yes. Yes to some degree. If you go into this job you have to be aware that you will be confronted - like ambulance officers and firemen - with very deeply distressing things at times. So it's important to learn the personal and professional skills that are required in order deal with that, it's just the nature of the game. So I think it goes two ways: the journalist has to be individually responsible in terms of self-care and learning about trauma impact and developing strategies to look after themselves, and if you're lucky enough to work in an organisation - well, it's also the organisations responsibility to extend the duty of care when staff are confronted with distressing things. It's not about avoiding it - the news has to be told, this is part of the job. But it's about self care, and the employers duty of care.
Having exposure to a number of news organisations, do you think newsrooms are supportive environments?
Look, some are better than others in terms of looking after their staff, it will depend on the particular culture of the newsroom. During my time at the Dart Centre and working with journalists at various organisations, I've found that some bureaus are more supportive than others. It will depend on the personality of the particular newsroom, and often it will depend on the type of news the journalists there are delivering. I've found journalists working in TV or radio newsrooms, where deadlines are constantly rolling and tragedies are often covered, are more likely to be affected by trauma.
Do you think universities should be placing a greater emphasis on teaching journalism students how to report on issues of tragedy or trauma?
Absolutely, I think that's imperative. If universities aren't training their students to deal with this stuff then they're lacking a duty of care. Research shows that 98 - 100 percent of journalists will at some point cover something that is traumatic to the point that it will cause, or could cause post traumatic stress disorder. So we know that it is a high pressure profession, just as working in paramedics, the police force and the fire brigade is. Every reporter - whether they're a fashion reporter or a music reporter - at some point in their career, will be exposed to one distressing story that might cause traumatic injury. I think it's imperative that universities teach their students how to manage this, and teach them awareness about this, and then teach self-care skills so that students can take them into the workforce with them.
Do you know of any Australian schools that are incorporating programs like this succesfully into their curriculum?
Well, I certainly think that RMIT has been very good with teaching this. There's a lot of teaching staff at RMIT that I've worked with who have taken this very seriously, and who have tackled the issue well. But yes, there is a number of great journalism schools around the country that do this, and that have warmed up to teaching subjects like this in more recent years. But there's also some schools that don't - or who don't do it very adequately, so the role of the Dart Centre is to get schools to recognise this is something that needs addressing, and then to help them produce programs that teach it.
When covering stories on trauma, not only is it important for journalists to look after themselves, but it’s also important for us to approach the people involved with respect and empathy. How would you advise a journalist to contact a source or an eyewitness if the issue is sensitive, or if this person might be fearing their own life?
Look, I think if you are simply honest, compassionate and ethical up front - it's really important when you're dealing with people affected by trauma to be honest about the interview, to declare who you are, and not to trip or coerce or cajole someone into an interview.
Also, it's important to give back some power to the person that you're interviewing, because what we know is that trauma renders people powerless and when you're interviewing a person for a news piece, giving back little bits of power will help them feel safe, and help them tell their story in a better way. Often just saying to the person, "please tell me if you would like to stop being interviewed at any time," is very good. Ask them where they would like to sit, or perhaps ask if they would like to have someone with them when they're giving the interview. Giving them little choices like this will help re-empower them and help them feel a sense of safety with you. It's not trickery, it's about compassion and ethics. And you'll actually get a better interview if you do those little things.
What advice would you give to a young journalist that might be reporting on an incident of this nature? Why is it important for empathy to be projected into journalism?
I would recommend getting yourself a mentor. I think everyone should get a mentor that they can connect with - either before or after - in terms of asking how to tackle particular stories. That way you can get tips from people that are working in the field now, and most working journalists will be happy to help. I think mentorship and allowing yourself to be mentored is really, really important. And to stretch yourself, because we all feel hesitant and fearful at times, but stretch yourself and take risks in terms of doing things that are a bit scary and interviewing people you might feel hesitant about. But always come back and speak to someone about it afterwards, and talk about what you did, because you'll be amazed by how much better it will make you feel. They would be the two main things that I would recommend.