Trauma journalism and disaster resilience. German journalists’ coping strategies when reporting about crime, violence, accidents, crises and natural disasters

Abstract

Accidents, violent crimes, war and natural disasters are traumatic experiences for individuals directly and indirectly involved, and often result in long-lasting consequences which are difficult to deal with. Journalists who report on these incidents are part of this group. Since the events on 9/11, this topic has shifted into the public’s focus, but there is still little known about the effects of crisis coverage for the journalists involved. The results of 30 semi-structured interviews show a dependence on coping strategies for the specific job situation, and a dependence on third variables, such as age and individual resources.