Reporting trauma

It's decade since the tragic events at Port Arthur and, with the tenth anniversary approaching, TRINA McLELLAN of the Dart centre for Journalism and Trauma asks "What have we learned?"

On 28 April 2006, Australia will mark a decade since the historic massacre that erupted on an otherwise quiet, sunny Sunday afternoon in one of the country's most tranquil locations.

Tasmanians - and hundreds of others who were visitors on the day - will pay their respects in a variety of ways, including two formal events being held at Port Arthur itself around the time of the anniversary.

For Australia's news media, though, the anniversary period may also be an important watershed in terms of approaching the coverage of such a significant traumatic incident.

The Australian Press Council, in conjunction with the Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma and the University of Tasmania, is involved in a number of industry, academic and public events over the coming weeks that will address the challenges of covering traumatic incidents and their anniversaries for news personnel and the wider community.

Many of those events will involve Joe Hight, the managing editor of The Oklahoman, who was closely involved in the initial award-winning coverage of the Oklahoma bombing as well as its recent tenth anniversary. The Press Council is helping to sponsor his visit and to organise meetings with the public and the press in Sydney and Brisbane.

During his visits in Hobart, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, Hight (who is also president of the US chapter of the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma) will share some experiences and invite Australian journalists to be part of a growing international conversation about ways field and newsroom staff can look after themselves and others while continuing to deliver the news of traumatic incidents.

The major event will be a public forum in Hobart on Friday 17 March from 7pm-9.30pm in the Dechaineaux Theatre, University of Tasmania Centre for the Arts, Hunter Street. The objectives of the forum include discovering what has been learned elsewhere by communities and media experiencing significant anniversaries of traumatic events, and allowing the community, news media and journalism/media students to raise and discuss issues surrounding the tenth anniversary of the Port Arthur massacre and its coverage.

Joe Hight is the main speaker. Other speakers will include Nicola Goc, Department of Journalism and Media Studies, University of Tasmania, Judy Tierney, former ABC TV and radio broadcaster and a freelance journalist, Peter Roche, captain, MV Marana, Port Arthur Cruises, and Leigh Winburn, pictorial editor, The Mercury. The Press Council's Vice Chairman, Professor HP Lee, will speak at the end of the seminar, drawing together what has been said and what implications it has for the media coverage of traumatic events.

After the Hobart event, Joe Hight will travel to Brisbane, where he will meet with senior staff at Queensland Newspapers and address a public meeting organized by QUT. In Sydney, in addition to meeting with the Press Council, he will discuss his experiences with senior staff at News Limited and address a public meeting organised by the University of Technology, Sydney.

Dart Centre visits

Potential winners from more sensitive coverage in the media of the Port Arthur anniversary will not only be those in the community who may still be affected by what transpired but also those in newsrooms who have battled to cover this or other tragedies. There are ways, say those who have been touched by the tragedy, that the media can do their job well while minimising further harm.

Journalist Judy Tierney, who covered the massacre and its fallout extensively for the ABC, reports being told by members of the Tasmanian community that there have been at least five suicides in the past 10 years that can be directly linked to the fallout from the massacre.

On two recent visits to Tasmania, board members of the Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma found that all media, community and experts interviewed confirmed there were individuals including journalists and former journalists who:

• are deeply traumatised by what happened, some of whom are still receiving treatment (most people knew at least half a dozen individuals in this situation);
   
• still grieve the loss of loved ones and struggle to maintain a sense of control over what happens in their lives, with some having been unable to return to work or who have changed careers;
   
• experience vivid, unwanted flashbacks and periodic unanticipated emotional reactions to known and unanticipated triggers and who are likely to be particularly susceptible to realistic depictions and recollections of what happened that are likely to be presented again during media coverage of the anniversary;
   

 
• remain distressed or highly uncomfortable when asked or pressed to discuss their experiences, reactions and/or recovery;

Equally, there are others who are reasonably comfortable talking to media, provided they are approached with respect and given control over the territory covered (i.e., they can decline to discuss aspects they find difficult or that they feel might hurt others or themselves).

What this group of people is experiencing is not atypical of a traumatised community, even after a decade has elapsed from the time of the events themselves.

Their spectrum of experiences and their emotional, psychological and physiological responses to those events are rich and diverse, something not broadly appreciated in the wider community.

Far from being "weak", as Tierney and other journalists will attest, a review of their experiences and the consequences they've had to deal with demonstrates a high level of bravery, strength, courage and determination not to see what they have endured imposed on others.

Media interest is likely to escalate as the anniversary nears and news media outlets can take steps to minimise the load on victims, witnesses, survivors and their families and friends.

• resist putting the perpetrator Martin Bryant's image on the front page of publications or high up in TV programs/bulletins or internet sites (and don't dwell on him or his well-being);
   
• don't bring helicopters to the Tasman Peninsula, especially around the time of the anniversary;
   
• avoid dwelling on conspiracy theories or theorists as they have virtually zero credibility in the community; and
   
• focus more on what good has come out of all this and where individuals and the community are going.

There were over 300 journalists covering the massacre in 1996, so the number of media approaches over the coming weeks are likely to be significant, particularly around the time of the anniversary. With that in mind, newsrooms should, where possible:

• consider pooling resources to limit the number of journalists at anniversary events;
   
• work through any appointed media liaison personnel to access willing participants while avoiding unnecessary agitation of reluctant individuals;
   
• be respectful of individual's grief, privacy, recovery and recollections;
   
• be sensitive to the feelings of Port Arthur Historic Site staff and Tasman Peninsula people who have to live and work in and near the site of the world's largest peacetime massacre of a lone gunman;
   
• remember that those journalists who fly in/fly out need to be particularly aware of potential sensitivities and respect the needs of those people and their peers in the Tasmanian media; and
   
• be aware that current and/or former journalists may themselves find this period difficult and potentially distressing, bringing back unwanted memories or emotions, perhaps by encouraging staff to support one another or seek counselling and to acquaint themselves with learning materials like those provided online by the Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma (www.dartcentre.org/training/selfstudy) that explain the impact of trauma on individuals and communities for journalists in order for them to better protect themselves and deal with others.

Trina McLellan
Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma - Australasia

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