Material warns about caring for the mental health of professionals during news coverage
The Communication, Freedom of Expression and Censorship Observatory (OBCOM), a research group at the University of São Paulo (USP) and the Communication agency DIX Content and Relationships developed the “Basic Guide for Journalists Covering Extreme Events – Preserving Health Physical and Mental in Situations of Intense Stress”, with the aim of contributing to professionals and journalism companies that have worked and will work in the future with events of great collective impact.
“Professionals working in extreme events are exposed to highly stressful situations. This exposure can lead to symptoms of intense stress and even post-traumatic stress syndrome, among other psychological conditions. If the journalist lives in the place where the events take place, it could be impacted doubly: by the challenge of coverage and by being able to be personally affected by the event”, explains Daniela Osvald Ramos, PhD professor at USP’s School of Communications and Arts and coordinator of OBCOM.
The guide was created with the mission of informing and promoting debate about mental health and the potentially traumatizing work of journalists.
“More than 2,000 journalists lost their lives as a result of the pandemic, in a ranking of 94 nations led by Brazil. We have witnessed environmental disasters in the country with increasing frequency and with the coverage of the same generation of professionals, who have been dealing repeatedly with the pain of those who lose everything and experiencing situations of unprecedented dimensions, like the one that happened in Rio Grande do Sul. It is essential that we focus on caring for the physical and mental health of these professionals and the new generations”, says Elen Petterson, director from DIX Content and Relationships.
The material briefly explains how coverage of extreme situations can promote trauma, impacting the health of professionals who are investigating, selecting and distributing information about the events, with tips on how reporters can protect themselves and how leaders can protect their teams.
The guide was developed based on the analysis of articles, videos and literature on trauma, risk communication and has the collaboration of illustrator Eloenes Silva and support and dissemination from the National Federation of Journalists (FENAJ).