JETREG International Conference 2024

“On Sacred Ground: Journalism, Education, and Trauma Conference 2024”

June 13-14, 2024

Free Registration

The Journalism Education Trauma Research Group (JETREG) is issuing a paper/panel call for the first-of-its-kind conference to be hosted in the United States.  The conference will take place at the Oklahoma City National Memorial, the site of the 1995 bombing.  It is the second annual international in-person conference organized by JETREG. UNESCO and the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma are among the co-sponsors of the event.

“On Sacred Ground: Journalism, Education, and Trauma Conference 2024” features a workshop for educators facilitated by Elana Newman, McFarlin Professor of Psychology and Affiliate Faculty in Media Studies at the University of Tulsa; and Research Director of the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma. Newman’s workshop will focus on trauma-informed practices for educators training future journalists in self-care and preparation for traumatic story content.  Anthony Feinstein is a is a professor of psychiatry at the University of Toronto and the first researcher to study effects of trauma on war journalists.Feinstein will host a conversation with combat journalists at the event. Participants will also have a private tour of the National Memorial Museum and grounds.

We are inviting scholars to submit 250-word abstracts/proposals for individual papers or pre-formed panels by March 22, 2024. Registration is free, but space will be limited. Travel stipends will be awarded to top papers authors from countries that comprise the Global South (funded by a UNESCO grant).  Please state if you would like to apply for the funding when submitting your abstract.

Research demonstrates that almost every journalist will experience a traumatic story at some point in their career.  Producers, video editors, and digital journalists can experience emotional distress without leaving the newsroom, as they work with disturbing imagery, such as horrific scenes from the wars in Israel/Gaza and Ukraine and scenes of mass shootings.  As a result, JETREG challenges educators around the world to implement trauma-informed teaching and training in university classrooms. The conference takes on the topics of trauma, PTSD, burnout, secondary traumatic stress, compassion fatigue, and emotional labor in journalism work, as well as research surrounding self-care, resilience, and organizational support.  We seek the perspectives of international scholars from different disciplines, practicing journalists/freelancers/editors on coping strategies and/or newsroom support that may have pedagogical relevance.

Launched in 2020 by Ola Ogunyemi at the University of Lincoln and Lada Price at the University of Sheffield, JETREG is a thriving international research group comprising over 250 members across the world with seven regional research hubs in Europe, North/South America, Africa, Australia/New Zealand, South Asia and MENA who will be represented at the event.

Topics of interest for this conference may include, but are not limited to:

•       Impact of journalists’ exposure to traumatic events
•       Stress, burnout and PTSD in journalism practice
•       Educational methods for preparing future journalists for trauma in their work
•       Addressing barriers to trauma literacy in journalism practice and education
•       Skills and capacity to cope with the effects of exposure to traumatic events
•       Enhancing resilience in journalism
•       Best practices and innovation in journalism pedagogy in building emotional resilience
•       Emotional literacy and psychological safety in journalism
•       Secondary traumatic stress regarding violent imagery
•       Institutional responses to trauma in newsrooms; support mechanisms
•       Issues surrounding burnout, turnover, and satisfaction in media work
•       Mental health/wellbeing among journalists and journalism students/trainees
•       ‘Moral injury’ in journalism

SUBMIT AN ABSTRACT by March 22, 2024 for consideration. Abstracts and questions may be directed to North American JETREG leaders Desiree Hill[email protected] and cc’d to co-leader Matthew Pearson [email protected] .  Notification of acceptance will be sent out on April 15, 2024.

Proposals for individual papers must include an abstract (max 250 words) and a short speaker biography (max 100 words). Panel proposals must include a 150-word rationale for the panel and list of the panelists with short bio for each.

Conference sponsors:

Journalism Education Trauma Research Group

UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization)

Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma

Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Oklahoma

Oklahoma City National Memorial

Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame

Tulsa Institute of Trauma, Adversity and Injustice (TITAN), at the University of Tulsa