• Prospective
    Students
  • Current
    Students
  • Alumni
  • Research
  • News &
    Events
  • About Royal
    Roads
Main menu
  • Prospective Students
  • Current Students
  • Alumni
  • Research
  • News & Events
  • About Royal Roads
 
    • Admin Login
    View Item 
    •   VIURRSpace Home
    • RRU
    • Student Research Collection
    • Dissertations & Theses @ RRU
    • View Item
    •   VIURRSpace Home
    • RRU
    • Student Research Collection
    • Dissertations & Theses @ RRU
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Sense from the senseless : understanding how journalists make sense of everyday trauma

    Thumbnail
    View/Open
    long_carmen.pdf (702.9Kb)
    Date
    2013-07-05
    Author
    Long, Carmen
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Subject
    Coping mechanisms; Emotional tools; Empathy; Journalism; Trauma
    Abstract
    A significant body of research documents the experiences of war correspondents and the impact covering conflict has on them. Far fewer studies focus on the impact that covering everyday trauma has on journalists. This Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) explores, at an idiographic level, the life worlds of six journalists from sub-Saharan Africa, and how each of them makes sense of the everyday trauma they experience in their work. The findings show that in each journalist's case, witnessing others' pain and trauma had a life changing impact; that empathy helped them cope with what they saw and experienced; and that they shared a tolerance for risk-taking. Journalists are the eyes and ears of the public. The study suggests that if journalists have the necessary emotional tools to cope with the stress they encounter in their work, everyone benefits: the journalists, their media organizations, the people whose stories they tell, and society. It is therefore important to take journalists' emotional coping strategies into account, so as not to cement the notion that feeling numb in the face of emotional trauma is simply business as usual.
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/10170/625
    Collections
    • Dissertations & Theses @ RRU
    • MA Intercultural and International Communication Theses

    Related items

    Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.

    • Thumbnail

      The impact of trauma on learning and the value of trauma informed practices in education 

      Geeraert, Katherine M. (Electronic version published by Vancouver Island University, 2018)
      Childhood trauma is pervasive and can have a major impact on the developing brain. The impact of trauma has the potential to affect a child across cognitive, social, behavioural, and emotional domains. Although it may be ...
    • Thumbnail

      Using trauma-informed practice to support students who have experienced trauma 

      Parker, Michelle (Electronic version published by Vancouver Island University, 2019)
      Child trauma is considered to be any event that is perceived as traumatic to a child. These events impact the neurological development of the brain, affecting aspects of language, emotional development, behavior, and ...
    • Thumbnail

      The sky is falling: Planning strategies for communities facing trauma after disaster strikes 

      Huddlestan, Lindsay Anne (Electronic version published by Vancouver Island University, 2019-03)
      The prevalence of natural disasters and the negative impacts they have on the mental health of survivors is increasing and for coastal British Columbia natural disasters are inevitable. Research shows local governments ...

    Browse

    All of VIURRSpaceCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

    My Account

    Admin LoginRegister
    back to top  
    Royal Roads University
    Our Location
    2005 Sooke Road
    Victoria, BC V9B 5Y2
    Canada
    •   Campus Map
    Get in Touch
    •   Phone: 250.391.2511
    •   Toll-free: 1.800.788.8028
    •   Email Us
    •   Directories
    @RoyalRoadsRRU FacebookRRU LinkedInRRU YouTubeRRU Pinterest
    • Contact Us
    • Send Feedback
    • Website Feedback
    • Privacy Policy
    • Academic Regulations
    • Copyright
    • Sitemap
    • ©2017 Royal Roads University
     
    DSpace Express is a service operated by 
    Atmire NV