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Journalists play a vital role in informing the public about current events and pressing issues. Yet, the demands of their work and the pressures of a 24-hour news cycle often expose them to significant trauma, leading to conditions such as PTSD, both in newsrooms and in the field.
Despite facing increasing threats, a relentless news cycle, and the risks of covering crises and conflicts, journalists continue to fulfill their responsibilities—often at great personal cost. But at what cost to their mental health?
Join us for an urgent conversation as we explore ways to support journalists' well-being, both in the newsroom and on the ground. We’ll discuss strategies for improving mental health resources, fostering resilience, and ensuring the long-term sustainability of journalism as a vital public service.
PANELISTS:
Kim Brice, Co-founder, trainer and coach, The Self-Investigation
Kim Brice is one of the co-founders of The Self-Investigation. She provides personal leadership and burnout prevention and recovery coaching as well as mindfulness-based stress reduction and resilience trainings to journalists and change makers. She has supported journalists from dozens of media organizations around the world, including The Guardian, Volant Media, Zeit Online and through the European Journalism Center, the International Center for Journalists, the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism and the World Association of Newspaper Publishers.
Prior to this work, she served as a global freedom of expression activist and later as a founder and then organizational advisor to many media, journalism and social justice support programs around the world. She believes creating a more balanced, compassionate and sustainable world starts with nurturing those qualities in ourselves.
Bruce Shapiro, Executive Director, Dart Center and Journalism Trauma Support Network (JTSN)
Bruce Shapiro is Executive Director of the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, a project of Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism encouraging innovative reporting on violence, conflict and tragedy worldwide. An award-winning reporter on human rights, criminal justice and politics, Shapiro is a contributing editor at The Nation and U.S. correspondent for Late Night Live on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Radio National. He is Adjunct Professor and Senior Advisor for Academic Affairs at Columbia, where he teaches journalism ethics. His books include Shaking the Foundations: 200 Years of Investigative Journalism in America and Legal Lynching: The Death Penalty and America's Future. Shapiro is recipient of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies Public Advocacy Award for "outstanding and fundamental contributions to the social understanding of trauma." He is a founding board member of the Global Investigative Journalism Network.
MODERATOR:
Sarah Kess (COM’12), Lecturer, Boston University College of Communication and Associate Director, Power of Narrative
Sarah Kess is a Boston-based journalism educator and administrator who specializes in the study of trauma-informed journalism and narrative nonfiction. She is presently an adjunct lecturer in the department of journalism at Boston University and Associate Director of Boston University’s Power of Narrative conference.