New study investigates the emotional impact on journalists reporting the refugee crisis
05 Jul 2017
The Emotional Toll on Journalists Covering the Refugee Crisis is the first study of its kind into the response of news media professionals covering a humanitarian crisis. Supported by the International News Safety Institute (INSI), it shows how moral injury - linked as it is to a sense of guilt and the loss of one’s moral compass - emerged as the biggest psychological challenge facing those covering the refugee crisis.
The report reveals for the first time how journalists can be affected by moral injury, and warns that this issue has the potential to have a significant impact on their emotional health if nothing is done to prevent or treat it.
Hannah Storm, co-author of the report and INSI Director says, “The scale of the refugee crisis in 2015 was the precursor to the study. We recognise that the trauma experienced by journalists as witnesses could never be equated with the suffering endured by the migrants, but we wanted to try to understand better what some journalists were experiencing so we could better support the industry and ensure those covering the refugee crisis could continue their important work of recording history.”
