Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-fbnjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-17T21:14:28.510Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Journalists’ Occupational Stress: A Comparative Study between Reporting Critical Events and Domestic News

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 July 2017

Susana Monteiro Open the ORCID record for Susana Monteiro [Opens in a new window]  and
Alexandra Marques-Pinto
Susana Monteiro*
Affiliation:
Universidade de Lisboa (Portugal) Instituto Superior de Ciências da Saúde Egas Moniz (Portugal)
Alexandra Marques-Pinto
Affiliation:
Universidade de Lisboa (Portugal)
*
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Susana Monteiro. Faculty of Psychology. Lisbon University. Alameda da Universidade. 1649–013. Lisboa (Portugal). Phone: +351–966074162. E-mail: sdeus@vodafone.pt
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Nowadays, journalism is considered a stressful occupation, not only due to the stress perceived in journalists’ daily work but also due to the critical, potentially traumatic events they report. However, research on journalists’ occupational stress in both these professional settings is still scarce. This study aims to characterize and compare occupational stress variables perceived by journalists in their daily work and in critical scenarios. Taking the Holistic Model of Occupational Stress by Nelson and Simmons (2003) as a framework, 25 Portuguese journalists, all with experience in reporting critical events, were interviewed on their perceptions of some core variables of the model: occupational stressors, distress and eustress emotional reactions, and the consequences of these experiences on their well-being. Differences among these core variables, according to the number of deployments to a critical event, were statistically analysed in order to ascertain whether repeated exposure to trauma influenced journalists’ occupational stress perceptions. The data content analysis showed that occupational stressors and emotional reactions differed across settings, while the consequences associated with journalists’ experiences were perceived as being mainly negative in both occupational contexts. Significant differences were identified in some of these variables according to the number of deployments to a critical event (p < .05). These findings may contribute to a reflection on the role of media organizations in preparing and supporting journalists in their work performance, and on the promotion of occupational health within the scope of journalists’ daily work and critical events. The article closes with considerations for future studies.

Keywords

daily work or critical eventsemotional reactionsimpactsjournalistsstressors
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 20 , 2017 , E34
Copyright
Copyright © Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anshel, M. K., Robertson, M., & Caputi, P. (1997). Sources of acute stress and their appraisals and reappraisals among Australian police as a function of previous experience. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 70, 337–356. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8325.1997.tb00653.x CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Backholm, K., & Björkqvist, K. (2010). The effects of exposure to crisis on well-being of journalists: A study of crisis-related factors predicting psychological health in a sample of Finnish journalists. Media, War & Conflict, 3, 138–151. https://doi.org/10.1177/1750635210368309 Google Scholar
Backholm, K., & Björkqvist, K. (2012). Journalists’ emotional reactions after working with the Jokela school shooting incident. Media, War & Conflict, 5, 175–190. https://doi.org/10.1177/1750635212440914 Google Scholar
Brough, P. (2005). A comparative investigation of the predictors of work-related psychological well-being within police, fire and ambulance workers. New Zealand Journal of Psychology, 34, 127–134.Google Scholar
Brown, J., Fielding, J., & Grover, J. (1999). Distinguishing traumatic, vicarious and routine operational stressor exposure and attendant adverse consequences in a sample of police officers. Work & Stress, 13, 312–325. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678379950019770 Google Scholar
Buchanan, M., & Keats, P. (2011). Coping with traumatic stress in journalism: A critical ethnographic study. International Journal of Psychology, 46, 127–135. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207594.2010.532799 Google Scholar
CareerCast. (2016). The most stressful jobs of 2016. Carlsbad, CA: Author. Retrieved from http://www.careercast.com/jobs-rated/most-stressful-jobs-2016 Google Scholar
Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2006). Have a stressful job? You must have an ulcer… right? Atlanta, GA: Author. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/ulcer/myth.htm Google Scholar
Dick, P. (2000). The social construction of the meaning of acute stressors: A qualitative study of the personal accounts of police officers using a stress counselling service. Work & Stress, 14, 226–244. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678370010026422 Google Scholar
Feinstein, A. (2004). The psychological hazards of war journalism. Nieman Reports, 58, 75–76.Google Scholar
Feinstein, A., Owen, J., & Blair, N. (2002). A hazardous profession: War, journalists and psychopathology. American Journal of Psychiatry, 159, 1570–1575. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.159.9.1570 Google Scholar
Flick, U. (2005). Métodos qualitativos na investigação científica [Qualitative methods in scientific research]. Lisboa, Portugal: Monitor (Original work published 2002).Google Scholar
Hatanaka, M., Matsui, Y. Ando, K., Inoue, K., Fukuoka, Y., Koshiro, E., & Itamura, H. (2010). Traumatic stress in Japanese broadcast journalists. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 23, 173–177. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.20496 Google Scholar
Hart, P. M., Wearing, A. J., & Headey, B. (1995). Police stress and well-being: Integrating personality, coping and daily work experiences. Journal of Occupational & Organizational Psychology, 68, 133–156. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8325.1995.tb00578.x Google Scholar
Heloani, R. (2005). Vivendo no limite: Quem são nossos formadores de opinião? [Living on the edge: Who are our opinion formers?]. Revista USP, 65, 148–168. https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2316-9036.v0i65p148-168 Google Scholar
Maslach, C., & Schaufeli, W. B. (1993). Historical and conceptual development of burnout. In Schaufeli, W. B., Maslach, C., & Marek, T. (Eds.), Professional burnout: Recent developments in theory and research (pp. 1–16). London, UK: Taylor & Francis.Google Scholar
McCreary, D. R., & Thompson, M. M. (2006). Development of two reliable and valid measures of stressors in policing: The operational and organizational police stress questionnaires. International Journal of Stress Management, 13, 494–518. https://doi.org/10.1037/1072-5245.13.4.494 Google Scholar
Monteiro, S., Marques Pinto, A., & Roberto, M. S. (2016). Job demands, coping, and impacts of occupational stress among journalists: A systematic review. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 25, 751–772. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432X.2015.1114470 Google Scholar
Morales, R. F., Pérez, V. R., & Martinez, L. M. R. (2012). Síntomas de estrés postraumático (EPT) en periodistas Mexicanos que cubren la guerra contra el narcotráfico [Posttraumatic stress symptoms in Mexican journalists covering the war against drug trafficking]. Suma Psicológica, 19(1), 7–17.Google Scholar
Nelson, D. L., & Simmons, B. L. (2003). Health psychology and work stress: A more positive approach. In Quick, J. C. & Tetrick, L. E. (Eds.), Occupational health psychology (pp. 97–119). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Novak, R. J., & Davidson, S. (2013). Journalists reporting on hazardous events: Constructing protective factors within the professional role. Traumatology, 19, 313–322. https://doi.org/10.1177/1534765613481854 Google Scholar
Osofsky, H. J., Holloway, H., & Pickett, A. (2005). War correspondents as responders: Considerations for training and clinical services. Psychiatry, 68, 283–293. https://doi.org/10.1521/psyc.2005.68.3.283 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Paton, D. (2006). Posttraumatic growth in disaster and emergency work. In Calhoun, L. G. & Tedeschi, R. G. (Eds.), Handbook of posttraumatic growth. Research and Practice (pp. 225–247). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Pyevich, C. M., Newman, E., & Daleiden, E. (2003). The relationship among cognitive schemas, job-related traumatic exposure, and posttraumatic stress disorder in journalists. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 16, 325–328. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024405716529 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
QSR. (2013). NVivo 10. Doncaster, Australia: QSR International Pty Ltd.Google Scholar
Reinardy, S. (2006). It’s gametime: The Maslach Burnout Inventory measures burnout of sports journalists. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 83, 397–412.Google Scholar
Schaufeli, W. B., Leiter, M. P., Maslach, C., & Jackson, S. E. (1996). Maslach burnout inventory-general survey. In Maslach, C., Jackson, S. E., & Leiter, M. P. (Eds.), The Maslach Burnout Inventory-Test Manual (3rd Ed.). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.Google Scholar
Sibbald, B. (2002). Post-traumatic stress an occupational hazard for journalists? Canadian Medical Association Journal, 166, 1704.Google ScholarPubMed
Simmons, B. L., & Nelson, D. L. (2001). Eustress at work: The relationship between hope and health in hospital nurses. Health Care Management Review, 26, 7–18. https://doi.org/10.1097/00004010-200110000-00002 Google Scholar
Strupp, J., & Cosper, D. (2001). Dealing with disaster. Editor & Publisher, 134, 10–14.Google Scholar
Tedeschi, R. , G., & Calhoun, L. G. (1996). The posttraumatic growth inventory: measuring the positive legacy of trauma. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 9, 455–471. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.2490090305 Google Scholar
Wallace, S. (2013). The complexities of convergence: Multiskilled journalists working in BBC regional multimedia newsrooms. The International Communication Gazette, 75(1), 99–117. https://doi.org/10.1177/1748048512461764 Google Scholar
Weidmann, A., Fehm, L., & Fydrich, T. (2008). Covering the tsunami disaster: Subsequent post-traumatic and depressive symptoms and associated social factors. Stress and Health, 24, 129–135. https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.1168 Google Scholar
Weidmann, A., & Papsdorf, J. (2010). Witnessing trauma in the newsroom: Posttraumatic symptoms in television journalists exposed to violent news clips. The Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease, 198, 264–271. https://doi.org/10.1097/NMD.0b013e3181d612bf Google Scholar