With the drowning death of three North Dakota softball players, one of whom grew up in Lake Elsinore; and Thursday’s senseless shooting at Fort Hood, it was a trying week for journalists across the country. To journalists, it is breaking news. We rush to cover the details, knowing citizens are waiting to hear the developments. We take pride in only reporting the facts, while attempting to give a humanistic side to each story.
Many of us thrive on the excitement of covering breaking news, but at the same time it can be hard to detach ourselves from the grief and horror taking place around us.
What happens when the news of the day is over - when our job is done, and it is time to pick ourselves back up, go home and face our loved ones?
We are often some of the first people on the scene of traumatic events, along with law enforcement and the military. Most are trained to deal with the aftermath; journalists are not. Eventually, the symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder may begin rearing their lovely little heads upon us, but where do we turn for help?
Lo and behold, “Journalism and Trauma” was the featured topic at Journalism Association of Community Colleges Southern California Conference Oct. 23-24 at Cal State Fullerton.
Keynote speakers Kari Hall, photo editor for the Orange County Register; and Kim Komenich, a multimedia professor at San Jose State University; told aspiring journalists of their experiences with traumatic press coverage.
Although Komenich is safe in a classroom now, he spent years on the front lines of international conflict. During his time with the San Francisco Examiner (1982-2000), he covered the Philippine Revolution, for which he won the 1987 Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography. He photographed war zones in Vietnam, Guyana, El Salvador, and the former Soviet Union. Most recently, he covered the Iraq war.
Hall was a photographer for the Los Angeles Times for 18 years. She is the author of “The Killing Fields,” a photo documentary about Cambodians struggling to survive in a refugee camp. Another of her documentaries, “Henry: An Unlikely Hero,” about a father struggling to raise his kids while living in motel rooms, was featured on MSNBC.
So where did they go from there - from discovering their passion for telling the story, no matter how gruesome, to keeping sane in the process?
One of the struggles Hall said she has dealt with is befriending the subjects of her stories, only to walk out their door a short time later. To counteract this, Hall said to this day she still keeps in touch with Henry and his children.
She also became an active member of the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, which in 1999 marked the beginning of a chain of support for journalists around the globe. Originally funded by the Dart family of Mason, Michigan, the organization’s mission is “dedicated to informed, effective and ethical news reporting on violence, conflict and tragedy.” Its goal is to “educate journalists and journalism students about the psychology of trauma and the implications for news coverage.”
Let’s face it, we are relied upon for accurate and timely reporting, but as Komenich said, “We are human beings, not some sort of cyborgs.”
Back here in Southwest Riverside County, I will have covered two memorial services in the span of one week. At the recent memorial service for Murrieta Valley High School Band Director Rick Lorenzen, I am not ashamed to say I cried. I live in the community I report on, and I am affected too. We all are. But it is good to know there is some help out there, and that more attention is being placed on the intricate balance between reporting and being human.
So bring on those light and fluffy stories Southwest Riverside County, but know that we will be there when tragedy strikes as well. We at Southwest Riverside News Network are here to represent our community, for better or for worse. We want our Web site to be the place you turn for up-to-date information about where you work, live and play.
To learn more about the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, go to www.dartcenter.org.
Maggie Avants is the education editor for SWRNN. Comments or story suggestions can be sent to mavants.swrnn@gmail.com.
Tags: Dart Center, fort hood shooting, Journalism and Trauma, Journalism Association of Community Colleges Southern California Conference, Kari Hall, Kim Komenich, Maggie Avants, rick lorenzen, SWRNN
