"Background: News journalists are an occupational group with a unique task at the scene of an unfolding crisis-to collect information and inform the public about the event. By being on location, journalists put themselves at risk for being exposed to the potentially traumatic event. Objective: To co ... mpare potentially traumatic exposure during work assignments at a crisis scene and in personal life as predictors of the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in news journalists. Further, to investigate the mediating effect of depression between the predictor and predicted variables. Method: With a web-based questionnaire, information from a sample of Finnish news journalists (n=407) was collected. The data collected included details on the range of potentially traumatic assignments (PTAs) at the crisis scene during the past 12 months, lifetime potentially traumatic events (PTEs) in personal life, PTSD symptoms, and level of depression. Results: Approximately 50% of the participants had worked with a PTA during the past 12 months. Depression had a significant indirect effect on the relationship between PTAs at the scene and symptoms of PTSD. A similar result was found regarding the relationship between personal life PTEs and PTSD. Depression had a complete indirect effect in the case of PTAs and a partial indirect effect in regard to PTE exposure in personal life. Conclusions: Exposure to PTAs is common within journalistic work. The results reflect the importance of understanding the underlying mechanisms of the measured symptoms (PTSD, depression) in relation to trauma history. The main limitations of the study include the cross-sectional design and the nature of the instruments used for the collection of work-related trauma history." (Abstract) more

"Journalists’ psychological distress after working with the Jokela school shooting incident was examined with a mixed methods research design using a sample of 196 journalists (27 on the scene, 169 working indirectly with the crisis). Quantitative results were compared to those of a control group ... of 297 journalists. Results from the quantitative data showed that in all journalists investigated, a minority indicated a level of PTSD, depression, secondary traumatic stress and burnout sufficient for being labeled as belonging to an ‘at risk’ subgroup. However, no significant group differences were found. In regard to journalists working with the shooting, previous personal traumatic exposure significantly predicted more distress due to the assignment, while work-related exposure did not. An analysis of qualitative data showed that the incident provoked work-related ethical difficulties, as well as a range of personal post-trauma reactions in journalists. The criticism of journalists after the incident provoked additional personal stress in a group of journalists." (Abstract) more

"In the chapter, journalistic work ethics on the scene during school shootings and journalists’ psychological stress reactions after such work is studied. Approach: Findings are based on several qualitative studies carried out separately at different time periods, spanning over a decade. Included ... cases are one from the United States, Columbine (1999), and two from Finland, Jokela (2007) and Kauhajoki (2008). Similarities and differences between cases are pinpointed, and general conclusions are drawn. Findings: Results show that while technical equipment and publication platforms have developed between cases, journalists’ ethical issues, response to public criticism, and patterns of postcrisis reactions remain similar. Practical implications: As implications in the area of journalism ethics and stress reactions, the authors conclude that work in crises will be the rule rather than the exception during a journalist's career. Ethical considerations and individual response patterns to an event interact in complex ways. Personal preparation and knowledge in the area of ethics are of crucial importance for being able to function professionally during assignments. Social implications: Personal knowledge regarding journalism ethics and psychological stress are of importance, since individual mistakes when informing about a crisis can have long-lasting societal effects. Value of chapter: In the chapter, the authors underline the need to develop a personal understanding of typical crisis-related journalistic work strategies (autopilot/hyper mode), ethical boundaries, and possible stress reactions, for enabling an adequate work approach during assignments. Also, a number of possible predictors for emotional distress in journalists during crisis-related assignments are proposed." (Abstract) more

"Effects of work-related and personal exposure to potentially traumatic events on PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder), depression, compassion fatigue and burnout were examined in 503 Finnish news journalists (238 men, 265 women) by using a web-based survey. Stepwise linear multiple regression analy ... ses showed that two variables significantly predicted all four outcome factors, i.e. PTSD, depression, compassion fatigue and burnout: the variables were personal exposure to traumatic events, including reactions caused by the event and the magnitude of the worst crisis-related assignment experienced as a journalist. An interaction effect was also found: respondents with high scores on both traumatic experiences in their personal life and a high amount of professional crisis-related assignments had a significantly higher level of PTSD symptoms than others." (Abstract) more