Journalists at risk of moral injury covering Turkey-Syria earthquake

Credit: Photo by Mahmoud Sulaiman on Unsplash

Moral injury is associated with feelings of guilt, anger and shame. Because of the nature of the work we do as journalists, we may be exposed to situations where we witness, experience or even participate in events that compromise our core values. That leaves us feeling morally and ethically injured.

In the aftermath of this month's devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria, I fear there is a real risk to journalists of moral injury.

Hannah Storm, co-founder and co-director of Headlines Network

Several years ago, professor Anthony Feinstein and I jointly authored a research report for the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism into moral injury. The report focused on journalists who covered the refugee crisis in 2015, but I do feel that some of our findings might be helpful for those covering this latest disaster.

For those who are local to stories, there may be an added sense of guilt about the responsibility they feel they carry to cover stories impacting their communities. Local journalists are often most at risk physically and psychologically.

Many journalists who are currently covering the aftermath of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, may face additional challenges which could expose them to moral injury. The nature of news tells us that there will come a time when the wider world moves on and when the story drops from the headlines, even though people are still suffering terribly. That can bring a great deal of frustration, and in turn, moral injury.

Some journalists covering the earthquake will have seen the horrific toll taken on people in the region by the conflict in Syria, or have covered other difficult stories in the region. It is important to note the cumulative trauma they may have been exposed to, either directly or vicariously, and how this may impact their mental health.

In addition to this, Turkey and Syria have long been a place with limited press freedom. We are already seeing journalists detained and threatened for trying to do their jobs, something which risks both moral and physical injury.

The burdens of bearing witness

One of the biggest lessons learned throughout my career is the value of reminding ourselves of why we do our work. This is called 'bearing witness'.

It is helpful to know in advance what does and does not constitute our work. In crisis situations, this can become complicated, especially if we are the first to the scene. For many of us, it is a natural human instinct to want to help, and if nobody else is there, then we may have no choice. 

But as journalists, we are not aid workers, medics, rescue teams, law enforcement nor the judiciary. Even if we may find ourselves as first responders to environments before some of these groups of people arrive.

If we repeatedly blur these lines between what we do as journalists and what others ought to do in their lines of work, this can impact our mental health. So, where we can, it is important to understand the parameters of our professional work.

When it comes to mental health, education is crucial. It is normal to have strong feelings when we have been covering intense, exhausting and traumatic stories. We are human beings with emotions, not robots. It might be the case that we have been conditioned to 'never become the story' and historically that it was frowned on to show emotion. But to suggest we should not feel anything about the stories we cover is absurd.

However, while recognising this, it is also vital that we find ways to support our colleagues who might be at risk of moral injury. Although it is not regarded as a mental illness, if left untreated moral injury can severely affect people, and impact our mental health and our ability to do our journalism.

Pause for thought

A lot of the considerations we shared in our report can be distilled into considerations before, during and after deployments.

A crisis is obviously a crisis because of the fact it takes us unawares. But there are some steps we can plan out: the stories in advance, ourselves emotionally and physically, coping strategies and sources of support, what we can and cannot control, and what motivates us to do the work we do. We can ensure we have contingency plans in place if things do not go to plan and we have a way of maintaining communication and contact with people we trust.

Having strong relationships with our colleagues and feeling supported by managers in the newsroom is key to mitigating the risk of moral injury.

Where we feel less supported, that is where the cracks appear in that moral fabric that then threatens injury. We know being able to speak with peers can help, either informally or formally, and having the opportunity to take breaks during the coverage of stories and crucially after, is very important.

We also know how hard it can be to take ourselves away from a story that has become so important to us. Therefore it is important for managers and senior leaders to ensure journalists know they are supported and valued for the work they have done, and that taking time to rest and recover, and perhaps cover another type of story, is not a sign of weakness. 

A right to be heard

For many years, we would hear whispers in newsrooms or the bars where we retired after stories of the impact of journalists' work on their mental health. For decades, we have sensed anecdotally the shame and guilt that comes with some of the work we do as journalists.

I remember feeling intense shame and guilt when I returned from Haiti after the earthquake in 2010. I really struggled to reintegrate into my comfortable home life in suburban southern England with my toddler daughter, after seeing so many families whose lives had been destroyed and children left orphaned or parents childless. I also remember not feeling able to speak about this coupled with a real sense of shame: feeling I had nothing to complain about.

It is important that leaders lead from the top. We are seeing this change happen. We are seeing education increase around mental health and conversations becoming more open, but there are still many cases where people still do not feel able to share their experiences.

We also know that in many newsrooms, we are not yet there. Journalists are continuing to be exposed to situations that leave them at risk of moral injury, that will shake their sense of wellbeing to the core, that will leave them feeling guilty and ashamed.

Shame is horrible to have to deal with and yet it is an emotion frequently connected with moral injury. People may also feel like they have 'nothing to complain about' compared with the trauma experienced by those whose stories they shared.

Of course, our trauma is not the same as that experienced by those who have had their lives shattered by disaster. But it does not mean that as journalists wherever we work, we do not have the right to ask for help, to be heard, and to be helped to do our jobs so we can continue being able to do the work we need to do. 

Hannah Storm is the co-founder and co-director of Headlines Network, which exists to promote more open conversations about mental health in journalism, through workshops, tips and a podcast. She is also a media consultant, specialising in physical, online or psychological safety, and the former CEO of the International News Safety Institute and the Ethical Journalism Network.

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