On Tuesday, I took the opportunity to attend an event that the Loyola University Chicago School of Communication and the Chicago Headline Club hosted on the effects trauma has on journalists.

The panel discussion included Jeff Kelly Lowenstein, Julie Lieblich and Dr. Frank Ochberg, all of the DART Society. The event was moderated by Randi Belisomo of WGN.

The discussion was very informative for me, as an aspiring journalist because they explained the four stages of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and how this condition can effect the work and well being of journalists. Some of the journalists on the panel, have been in the field so they gave advice and recommendations as to how to deal with reporting stories on traumatic events.

The discussion also covered how to handle the grief of the subject and the grief of  journalists themselves, when to know to stop the story if the subject would not like to continue and to be open to sharing and talking about traumatic experiences on the field with others.

An important lesson that I took out of this event was to enter a place of gratitude and humility whenever I am covering a story on traumatic events and interviewing victims. I also learned that journalists cannot protect victims from the aftermath of a traumatic event.

I really appreciate an event like this, especially since I am learning the realities of a field that I seek to enter into. I definitely plan on looking into experiences like this and what else I will face as a journalist.