TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Reporters, often first to the scene of emergencies, face the risk of exposure to trauma while covering stories, necessitating a balance between resilience and self-care.
The "Crisis Reporting" workshop, held by the Forward Alliance on March 22-23 and led by Dr. Erin Smith, CEO of Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma, Asia Pacific, and Dr. Julia Hsu, a professor at the College of Communication at National Chengchi University, stressed the essential skills needed to navigate unpredictable environments.
Dr. Smith, with over 25 years of experience in professions exposed to trauma, shared her diagnosis of PTSD from working on stories involving first responders and individuals affected by the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
"That really motivates me now to share my story in the hopes that I can help other people recognize if they're being impacted by the work they're doing and the ways they can support themselves and look after themselves," she explained.
Dr. Smith emphasized the importance of organizational and peer support for journalists facing trauma and advised younger generations to utilize these resources. "If those support systems aren't there, you need to ask why not?" Dr. Smith said.
Dr. Hsu, a former TV reporter in Taiwan with extensive research on crisis reporting, highlighted the lack of exposure Taiwanese journalists have to this topic. She stressed the importance of the workshop and further training, urging reporters to prepare and assess risks before covering stories to minimize physical and mental harm.
Dr. Hsu also advised that supervisors should protect their journalists by investing in personal protective equipment, psychological support workshops, and counseling to enhance reporters' resilience and performance when covering news.