Since this website started, we have had several awful events that really challenge your faith in humanity and your journalistic integrity. When the shootings happened in Aurora, several journalists DM’d about the emotional toll covering that story took on them. Many local, Colorado, journalists stated that station management did not seem to understand just how hard it was to cover the story day in and out.
Now journalists are trying to help viewers make sense of the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary. The ages of the children involved, is staggering. As some of you pointed out in our discussions, these kids were young enough to still believe in Santa Claus. They symbolized innocence and all that is good about humanity.
Unfortunately, it is part of the job to cover horrible things like this story. It is part of the job to watch horrific crime scene video to see if it should be released to the public. It is part of the job to comb through records in a case that describe, in horrible detail, how long a child was buried alive before finally suffocating and dying. But we are also human. These facts and images do take an emotional toll.
So this article is an attempt to let you know it is okay to hurt. It is okay to be angry and to question. This article is a reminder to managers across the country that your journalists know it is part of the job to report on these types of stories, but that it can take an emotional toll. Offer some sort of support, even if it’s a reminder that the company offers free counseling services through an toll free number.
If you are finding that these events leave you raw or numb, talk about it. Call that 800 line. Call your spiritual guide if you attend some sort of church. If you don’t have a spiritual guide, go to the inspirational section of a book store and look up a title. We all need to be reminded that some things are bigger than us. Go to a yoga class. Beef up your workout to relieve stress. Eat a little comfort food! Bottom line: Do not ignore the emotions. It is simply not healthy. It is not good for you or the audience you try and serve. Our Facebook page has a place to comment and discuss your thoughts if you’d like. We know from covering news that some people find it therapeutic to say or write their thoughts down and share them. If you need, do it also. No judging. We need to support each other, when these kinds of stories happen. We need a place to separate from the job and be human as well. Otherwise, these kinds of stories will take a long term emotional toll on all of us.
