The Trauma Beat podcast

1:04:56

Consider some of the most common top news stories. Your local hockey team makes it to the Stanley Cup Finals. A high-profile businessperson throws their hat into a political race. A grieving parent breaks down at the scene where their child was just murdered. Now consider how the media interacts with the people in these stories. The hockey stars have received some media training and are only interviewed in controlled news conferences or locker room scrums by accredited sports reporters. The aspiring politician has undergone hours of media training, has a list of key messages they’ve practiced in a series of mock interviews, and has a handler who decides which reporters they will talk to and for how long. The parent of the murdered child, meanwhile, stands alone, fielding a steady stream of requests for media interviews about things their brain hasn’t even had an opportunity to process. All the while, they are making funeral arrangements, speaking with investigators, and caring for their other children. They’ve never been approached for a media interview before this. But here they are, answering phone call after phone call, doorbell after doorbell. They are sad, afraid, and extremely vulnerable. David Guarino, a former journalist-turned-communications adviser, noticed the disparity in how trauma survivors interacted with the media, and the lack of services for those who are forced to suffer on the public stage. He decided to do something about it. “How could there not be an organization that does this? And how could government not do it? It just didn’t make sense to me,” David tells Tamara. David is the founder and president of Survivors Say, a Boston-based non-profit with a team of volunteers who support trauma survivors with the media. Resources: survivorssay.org As per trauma-informed practice, each guest in The Trauma Beat podcast is afforded the opportunity to review and veto a list of anticipated questions before the recorded conversation. Ongoing, informed consent is sought throughout the production process. This conversation was recorded in March 2024. For more trauma-informed storytelling resources, visit pickupcommunications.com.…

The Trauma Beat

1
Framing Gun Violence w/ Jim MacMillan & Dr. Jessica Beard 1:11:21

40 weeks ago1:11:21

1:11:21

When Dr. Jessica Beard began working as a trauma surgeon in Philadelphia, she turned to local news to understand why there were so many firearm-injured patients arriving at her hospital. What she found was not helpful. Very little mention of root causes. Very little mention of possible solutions. The way gun violence was framed in the media made it all seem so, well, inevitable. She wanted to change that. Enter Jim MacMillan, a Pulitzer Prize-winning Philly photographer on a mission to change the way gun violence was reported in his city. Jim is the founder of the Philadelphia Center for Gun Violence Reporting (PCGVR), a non-profit that is educating journalists about better ways to report gun violence, with much of its work drawing on the research of Dr. Beard, who is now PCGVR’s director of research. PCGVR works closely with victims and survivors of gun violence in an effort to change the narrative from “gun violence is inevitable” to “gun violence is preventable.” Resources: pcgvr.org Better Gun Violence Reporting Toolkit PCGVR weekly newsletter Systemic disparities in reporting on community firearm violence on local television news in Philadelphia, PA, USA Public health framing of firearm violence on local television news in Philadelphia, PA, USA: a quantitative content analysis “Like I’m a nobody:” firearm-injured peoples’ perspectives on news media reporting about firearm violence More about Jim MacMillan More about Dr. Jessica Beard As per trauma-informed practice, each guest in The Trauma Beat podcast is afforded the opportunity to review and veto a list of anticipated questions before the recorded conversation. Ongoing, informed consent is sought throughout the production process. This conversation was recorded in March 2024. For more trauma-informed storytelling resources, visit pickupcommunications.com.…

The Trauma Beat

1
Harms and Healing for Sex Trafficking Survivors w/ Michèle Anderson 1:19:03

41 weeks ago1:19:03

1:19:03

For more than three decades, Mich è le Anderson worked on the front lines of sex trafficking in Toronto, supporting victims and survivors through her role at a local non-profit organization. Mich è le speaks with Tamara about her experiences supporting survivors in their interactions with the media, her own interactions with the media, and the impact she saw the media have on survivors throughout the years. While Mich è le speaks mostly about the harm that she has experienced and witnessed from the media, she also talks about the potential benefit that can come from survivors sharing their stories publicly. “I think there are ways and pathways forward where it can be done in a very thoughtful, mindful, meaningful, supportive way,” Mich è le says. Though retired, Mich è le remains a fierce advocate for sex trafficking survivors, including for their “right to be forgotten,” which she speaks about in this episode. She discusses the importance of consent when writing about the trauma of others and providing agency in the ways in which their stories are collected and shared. As per trauma-informed practice, each guest in The Trauma Beat podcast is afforded the opportunity to review and veto a list of anticipated questions before the recorded conversation. Ongoing, informed consent is sought throughout the production process. This conversation was recorded in March 2024. For more trauma-informed storytelling resources, visit pickupcommunications.com.…

The Trauma Beat

1
Well-Being Champion w/ Dave Seglins 1:10:21

42 weeks ago1:10:21

1:10:21

It was during the pandemic, and all the stressful stories that came along with it, that Dave Seglins was assigned a story about a historical child murder case. And he couldn’t do it. By this point, Dave knew a thing or two about his mental health. Years earlier, he had been diagnosed with PTSD following his coverage of a trauma-filled court case. And in that moment that he was assigned that historical child murder case, he knew he didn’t have the capacity. The reaction from his boss, he recalls, was that Dave wasn’t allowed to refuse an assignment and that if he couldn’t handle it, perhaps he should be in a different job. “The words were, ‘This is not the way it’s supposed to work.’ And I reflected on that and I said, ‘You know what? This is exactly how it’s supposed to work. I’m a 25-year veteran who’s been through the wringer. I know what PTSD is. If I’m in the height of stress and I can’t put up my hand, you know, as a senior white guy in the newsroom with a secure, union-protected job, who can?’” That experience inspired Dave’s crusade to create safer and healthier workplaces for journalists across the country. In this conversation, the investigative journalist and self-described Well-Being Champion speaks with Tamara about the “trauma load” experienced by many journalists and his efforts to make things better, not only for his colleagues at Canada’s public broadcaster, but for journalists across the country. When he’s not reporting and hosting shows for CBC, Dave is focused on research, advocacy, training and building better supports to enhance mental health and well-being within the industry. He was the co-lead of a national Take Care Survey, which studied the well-being of more than 1,200 journalists across Canada, and holds certificates in Global Mental Health and Trauma and Mental Health First Aid. Resources: Taking Care Report As per trauma-informed practice, each guest in The Trauma Beat podcast is afforded the opportunity to review and veto a list of anticipated questions before the recorded conversation. Ongoing, informed consent is sought throughout the production process. This conversation was recorded in November 2023. For more trauma-informed storytelling resources, visit pickupcommunications.com.…

The Trauma Beat

1
Moral Injury w/ Dr. Anthony Feinstein 58:05

43 weeks ago58:05

58:05

Dr. Anthony Feinstein is a world-renowned psychiatrist who has spent much of his career studying the impact of trauma on journalists who work in war zones and under oppressive regimes. He is also the person who first introduced Tamara to the term “moral injury.” In this episode, Dr. Feinstein discusses the concept of moral injury as it pertains to local news reporters, along with the responsibility of journalists and newsroom managers to ensure victims and survivors of traumatic events are handled in an ethical, trauma-informed way. “In my profession, in medicine, the cardinal rule is doctor do no harm. And I think you have to bring that same lens to what you do as well,” Dr. Feinstein says of approaching victims and survivors in the immediate aftermath of traumatic events. “Because in that particular moment, you are getting that person at their most vulnerable, at a moment of overwhelming trauma.” In illustrating the impact of photojournalism on trauma survivors, Dr. Feinstein refers to the Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph taken by an amateur photographer in the aftermath of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, and how harmful that iconic photo was for the family of the baby whose body was featured in the image. “Every time this woman sees the photograph, it reminds her of what happened,” he says. “From a trauma perspective, that’s a very difficult situation to deal with. So if you can prevent that, if you can lessen that, for me, that becomes a priority, not the Pulitzer photograph.” Dr. Feinstein also discusses to the shame and guilt that most often accompany moral injury, sometimes alongside anger, disgust and contempt. He discusses how moral injury suffered by journalists can impact their journalism, and how newsroom managers can measure the risk of moral injury through the use of the Toronto Moral Injury Scale for Journalists . Dr. Feinstein’s latest book, Moral Courage: 19 Profiles of Investigative Journalists , presents moral courage as the antidote to moral injury. All royalties from the sale of Moral Courage go toward covering the cost of therapy for freelance journalists. Resources: Moral Courage: 19 Profiles of Investigative Journalists Dr. Feinstein’s series on Moral Courage for The Globe and Mail Witnessing images of extreme violence: a psychological study of journalists in the newsroom Trauma Assistance Fund for Freelancers As per trauma-informed practice, each guest in The Trauma Beat podcast is afforded the opportunity to review and veto a list of anticipated questions before the recorded conversation. Ongoing, informed consent is sought throughout the production process. This conversation was recorded in March 2024. For more trauma-informed storytelling resources, visit pickupcommunications.com.…

The Trauma Beat

1
Permission to Feel w/ Michelle Maluske 1:15:55

44 weeks ago1:15:55

1:15:55

In the near quarter century that Michelle Maluske has reported on news as a video journalist with CTV News Windsor in Ontario, she has reported on a wide variety of traumatic events. From shadowing paramedics as they went from call to call several years ago, to a high-profile and trauma-filled murder trial and sentencing hearing in the weeks and months before this conversation was recorded, Michelle’s work has had a deep impact on her life. “I was overcome with emotion, and I did start to cry to the point I couldn’t talk. And I was embarrassed for a moment,” Michelle says of her experience covering the victim impact statements for a man who murdered four members of a London, Ontario family simply because they were Muslim. “And then I thought, ‘No, this is real emotion. And I may be a reporter, but I’m allowed to feel.’” Not only was it a highly emotional court case. It was an extremely high profile, garnering national and international interest. This meant Michelle was not only filing stories for her local newscast; she was also doing hits with stations across the country and had very little time to process what she was witnessing and feeling throughout the long days. Acknowledging that some people view crime reporters as “vultures” and “ambulance chasers,” Michelle puts a human face to the trauma beat. “It costs me nothing to be kind to these people whose lives have been exposed forever,” she says. “I want people to give us the benefit of the doubt. We’re not terrible people.” As per trauma-informed practice, each guest in The Trauma Beat podcast is afforded the opportunity to review and veto a list of anticipated questions before the recorded conversation. Ongoing, informed consent is sought throughout the production process. This conversation was recorded in February 2024. For more trauma-informed storytelling resources, visit pickupcommunications.com .…

The Trauma Beat

1
Cops & Crime w/ Steph Crosier 1:36:36

45 weeks ago1:36:36

1:36:36

Steph Crosier is a newlywed, aunt, dog mom, athlete, and journalist who for the past decade has covered mostly crime for the Kingston Whig Standard and papers across the Canada’s Postmedia Network. Before settling in Kingston, Ontario, Steph worked for newspapers in Hamilton, Winnipeg and Sault Ste. Marie. In this conversation, Steph reflects on her early days as a cub reporter and how her thoughts around the crime beat have evolved over time. She also discusses the challenges posed by local blogs that don’t operate by the same rules as mainstream media outlets, adding a layer of complexity to her job and causing harm to victims and survivors of traumatic events who are forced to suffer on the public stage. Tamara and Steph also discuss barriers that exist for journalists who would like to collect and tell stories in a trauma-informed way, and what it means to practice “ethical journalism.” As per trauma-informed practice, each guest in The Trauma Beat podcast is afforded the opportunity to review and veto a list of anticipated questions before the recorded conversation. Ongoing, informed consent is sought throughout the production process. This conversation was recorded in December 2023. For more trauma-informed storytelling resources, visit pickupcommunications.com.…

The Trauma Beat

1
The Human Zoo w/ Fernanda H. Meier 1:33:54

46 weeks ago1:33:54

1:33:54

Photographer, writer and traveler Fernanda H. Meier has learned many things while documenting stories from around the globe. She speaks with Tamara about the importance of being purposeful in collecting and sharing stories of trauma and ensuring journalism is in the best interest of victims and survivors whose stories are being documented. “It’s great to tell stories, but just make sure you’re telling the real story, not the one you want people to see and hear,” Fernanda says. Fernanda also discusses the ethics of capturing images that depict someone’s trauma, the impact of war photography, and the concept of “the human zoo,” in which experiences and events are viewed and presented through a harmfully narrow lens. Tamara and Fernanda contemplate the ethics of profiting from the stories of others, and the idea of compensating subjects for the use of their images. Resources: fernandameier.com Elephant Nature Park Wildflower Home Teens of Color Abroad As per trauma-informed practice, each guest in The Trauma Beat podcast is afforded the opportunity to review and veto a list of anticipated questions before the recorded conversation. Ongoing, informed consent is sought throughout the production process. This conversation was recorded in November 2023. For more trauma-informed storytelling resources, visit pickupcommunications.com.…

The Trauma Beat

1
The Impact of Graphic Imagery w/ Heather Martin 56:06

47 weeks ago56:06

56:06

As she prepares to mark 25 years since the mass shooting at her high school that made headlines around the world, Heather Martin speaks with Tamara about the impact the media had on her in the immediate aftermath of the Columbine High School shooting, and for several years that followed. Tamara asks Heather for her reaction to The Washington Post ’s decision to publish graphic imagery from the immediate aftermath of various mass shootings. Heather speaks specifically about the impact of the media on physically uninjured survivors, the control (or lack thereof) that victims and survivors have over the way their stories are collected and shared, and the opportunity journalists have to help survivors with their post-traumatic growth. Resources: therebelsproject.org As per trauma-informed practice, each guest in The Trauma Beat podcast is afforded the opportunity to review and veto a list of anticipated questions before the recorded conversation. Ongoing, informed consent is sought throughout the production process. This conversation was recorded in March 2024. For more trauma-informed journalism resources, visit pickupcommunications.com.…

The Trauma Beat

1
Chasing Trauma for Network TV w/ Elisa Toha 51:37

48 weeks ago51:37

51:37

Elisa Toha’s path to becoming a trauma therapist was not exactly a conventional one. Before she began her career helping people through their trauma, she spent years chasing trauma around the United States as a chase producer, or booker, for major network morning shows and CNN. From her home in New York City, where she was based as an Emmy-award-winning journalist and now works as a therapist, Elisa discusses her career as a booker in a highly competitive media market in which journalists are often flown to traumatic events even before family members have been notified that their loved ones were killed. Elisa and Tamara share anecdotes of being directed to do tasks that went against their moral compasses, and the moral injury they suffered as a result. Tamara and Elisa grapple with the ethics of trauma journalism, the importance of self-care for journalists who cover trauma, and ideas for how traumatic stories can be told, better. Resources: elisatoha.com As per trauma-informed practice, each guest in The Trauma Beat podcast is afforded the opportunity to review and veto a list of anticipated questions before the recorded conversation. Ongoing, informed consent is sought throughout the production process. This conversation was recorded in January 2024. For more trauma-informed storytelling resources, visit pickupcommunications.com.…

The Trauma Beat

1
His Name was Marvin Engelbrecht w/ Semon Engelbrecht 1:21:32

49 weeks ago1:21:32

1:21:32

Marvin Engelbrecht was walking his dog near his home in Toronto when he was shot and killed on October 29, 2012. But it was nearly a year before then crime reporter Tamara Cherry first heard his name, delivered during at a news conference where police announced Marvin had been killed in a “random act of violence.” The murder of Marvin Engelbrecht — a young Black man killed in a neighbourhood that had experienced a disproportionate amount of gun violence — would stick with Tamara for all the years that followed. It bugged her that, even though he had been publicly identified in the immediate aftermath of his homicide, she didn’t know his name until police revealed he had been killed at random. In this episode, Marvin’s mother, Semon Engelbrecht, tells Tamara about Marvin and the impact his death, and lack of media attention it garnered, had on her family. She also speaks about the problematic way in which the media gives more attention to some homicides over others. Semon and Tamara also discuss grief, healing from traumatic loss, and what she’s learned since Marvin died, including the fact that “things that happen to you aren’t losses. They’re lessons.” As per trauma-informed practice, each guest in The Trauma Beat podcast is afforded the opportunity to review and veto a list of anticipated questions before the recorded conversation. Ongoing, informed consent is sought throughout the production process. This conversation was recorded in May 2024. For more trauma-informed storytelling resources, visit pickupcommunications.com.…

The Trauma Beat

1
The Trauma Beat Season 2 Trailer 5:45

50 weeks ago5:45

5:45

From the author of The Trauma Beat: A Case for Re-Thinking the Business of Bad News comes another season of conversations that are meant to make us think differently about the way bad-news stories are collected and shared. Unlike Season 1, which included almost exclusively conversations with trauma survivors speaking about the impact of the media coverage of their traumatic events, Season 2 will bring together voices from various other stakeholders: journalists, researchers, front-line service providers. And of course, there will be the voices of survivors, including in a very special season opener. What impact does trauma have on journalists who are covering it? What is the cost for those who feel compelled to report traumatic stories in a way that goes against their moral code? Can those graphic crime-scene photos really spur social change? When does the harm outweigh the good? These questions and more will be tackled in Season 2 of The Trauma Beat. For more information, including resources for trauma-informed storytelling, visit pickupcommunications.com.…

The Trauma Beat

1
The Trauma Beat - #11 - Brett Holzhauer 53:35

1 year ago53:35

53:35

Brett Holzhauer was in the library of Santa Monica College, a journalism student studying for his last exam, when he heard the first bang. For the self-proclaimed gun advocate, that bang and the many bangs that followed were unmistakable: gunfire. His first encounter with the media came just moments after he had a gun pointed in his face, just moments after he crawled and ran to safety, and just moments after seeing the shooter dead outside the building. He wasn’t ready to do an interview yet, but being a journalism student, he felt it was his duty. “I gave one interview. One turned to two, to five, to seven, to 10, and I forget the exact count, but I think in a two-hour span, I probably did 35 interviews,” he recalls in conversation with host Tamara Cherry, exactly nine years after that day. “I think that there is this mass land grab of, ‘Who was there, who can we talk to, who can we get a hot quote from’ and then everyone just kind of throws up their hands like, ‘Okay, thanks for the help. See you later.’ And there’s never a follow-up.” Speaking two weeks after the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Brett discusses the impact that media coverage of other incidents of mass violence has had on him. He also questions whether it is the responsibility of a journalist to follow up with trauma survivors after highly emotional interviews, and the consequences of not doing so. Brett and Tamara consider what support should look like for survivors in the immediate aftermath of traumatic and high-profile events. “There’s got to be a more ethically sound way to do these things that is centered around the community or the city that is more organized, rather than just this manic free-for-all,” Brett says. He refers to the media coverage of the Uvalde shooting and how one network anchor comforted a grieving father on live television. Referring to the Parkland high school and Sandy Hook elementary school shootings, Brett also speaks about the harm he has felt from media coverage that seems to focus so quickly on the debate over the Second Amendment. As per trauma-informed practice, each guest in The Trauma Beat podcast is afforded the opportunity to review and veto a list of anticipated questions before the recorded conversation. Ongoing, informed consent is sought throughout the production process. This conversation was recorded in June 2022. For more trauma-informed journalism resources, visit pickupcommunications.com. If you'd like to be a guest on the show or inquire about sponsorship opportunities, please email contact@pickupcommunications.com.…

The Trauma Beat

1
The Trauma Beat - #10 - Elynne Greene 1:01:31

1 year ago1:01:31

1:01:31

For more than three decades, Elynne Greene answered the call to help those who were confronted by the unimaginable. From homicides and traffic fatalities, to sexual violence and human trafficking, to the “One October” mass shooting on the Las Vegas strip, the recently retired manager of Victim Services for Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department has supported countless trauma survivors through their darkest days. And through it all, Elynne’s job has included at least some involvement with the media — a rare quality for victim services personnel. She has seen how the media can harm, and how the media can help. In conversation with Tamara Cherry, she provides invaluable advice for journalists, victim service providers and investigators, including how they can work together to support survivors, and each other. Elynne and her team supported victims and survivors in the hours, weeks, months, and years that followed One October, as it came to be known, when a gunman opened fire on a crowd of outdoor concert goers. She recalls those chaotic first hours of supporting survivors who didn’t know whether their loved ones were among the dead, and how, as the story stretched on, the media favored certain survivors over others. Elynne discusses the methodologies (reaching out to survivors, showing up at their home), language (for example, words used to describe sexually exploited children), and elements journalists often use to tell their stories (for example, images of body bags and car wrecks, sounds of gunshots, and identifiable crime scene photos), and how these common practices in the newsgathering and storytelling process can negatively impact survivors. She also speaks to the importance of not perpetuating myths about crimes like human trafficking. Elynne also unpacks the importance of supporting survivors throughout the media process, from providing them with the information they need to make an informed choice to engage (or not) with the media, to preparing them for an interview, and advocating for them if things go sideways. As per trauma-informed practice, each guest in The Trauma Beat podcast is afforded the opportunity to review and veto a list of anticipated questions before the recorded conversation. Ongoing, informed consent is sought throughout the production process. This conversation was recorded in March 2022. Elynne retired from her post at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department in 2023. For more trauma-informed journalism resources, visit pickupcommunications.com. If you'd like to be a guest on the show or inquire about sponsorship opportunities, please email contact@pickupcommunications.com.…

The Trauma Beat

1
The Trauma Beat - #9 - Cijay Morgan 36:41

2 years ago36:41