Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma

Self-Study Unit 4: The First 24 Hours

The first 24 hours after a traumatic news event may present a journalist with considerable challenges and opportunities, both professionally and personally. The usual physical and psychological demands of trying to gather facts and write a story under deadline are greatly magnified when trauma is involved, especially when a large number of victims are dead or seriously injured (although even a single victim can be difficult to cover).

Self-Study Unit 4: The First 24 Hours

Sources and Resources

Sources and resources for Self-Study Unit 4: The First 24 Hours.

Self-Study Unit 4: The First 24 Hours

IV. Coping Strategies for Victims

The first 24 hours after a traumatic event can be a time of extremely high psychological stress for everyone involved — victims, their families, rescue personnel, medical staff and others. Often left out of this picture of sufferers, however, are the journalists who give witness to tragic situations so that others who are not on the scene have a sense of what happened and what impact it has had (and will continue to have) on the community.

Self-Study Unit 4: The First 24 Hours

V. Coping Strategies for Families

Journalists should also be aware of acute stress disorder during this time period and beyond.

Self-Study Unit 4: The First 24 Hours

III. The Stories

Here are some examples of stories that were written soon after a traumatic event. Read this articles to get a sense for what a journalist has to go through after a major catastrophe to write a story for the next day's news.

Self-Study Unit 4: The First 24 Hours

II. The People

The people involved in a major traumatic event are connected in a web of social and governmental relations. At the scene of the event, there will be victims, friends and family of victims who have come to the scene, and curious by-standers - some of them valuable witnesses, others eager for media exposure but with little substantive information to offer.

Self-Study Unit 4: The First 24 Hours

I. The Scene

In Littleton, Colorado, scene of the worst school shooting in U.S. history, a number of news organizations began suspecting that something was amiss when they noticed heavy communications traffic over police scanners. There were rumors of a shooting, but at first nobody knew the extent of the casualties.

Journalism and Psychological Trauma

By James MacMillan

Readings, assignments and weekly schedules for Temple University course Journalism 3700: Journalism and Psychological Trauma.

Homicide on Campus: Student Journalists Reflect

By Sue Lockett John and Brian Feulner

Sacramento State Hornet student journalists were among the first to arrive at the scene where a California State University, Sacramento, student was beaten to death and his roommate and alleged assailant was shot by police. In this online video, four editors recall their actions and reactions in covering the tragic event.

How Covering Jonesboro Changed A Reporter

By Audrey Watkins

When I walked out the door of The Jonesboro Sun news room shortly after 1 p.m. on March 24, 1998, I thought I was about as prepared as a reporter could be in a minute's notice.