title: Witnessing images of extreme violence: a psychological study of journalists in the newsroom.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  User Generated Content - photos and videos submitted to newsrooms by the public - has become a prominent source of information for news organisations. Journalists working with uncensored material can frequently witness disturbing images for prolonged periods. How this might affect their psychological health is not known and it is the focus of this study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Descriptive, exploratory.
  
  
  METHODS
  The newsrooms of three international news organisations.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred and sixteen journalists working with User Generated Content material.
  
  
  METHODS
  Psychometric data included the re-experiencing, avoidance and autonomic arousal indices of posttraumatic stress disorder (Impact of Event Scale-revised), depression (Beck Depression Inventory-II; BDI-II), a measure of psychological distress (GHQ-28), the latter comprising four subscales measuring somatisation, anxiety, social dysfunction and depression, and mean weekly alcohol consumption divided according to gender.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Regression analyses revealed that frequent (i.e. daily) exposure to violent images independently predicted higher scores on all indices of the Impact of Event Scale-revised, the BDI-II and the somatic and anxiety subscales of the GHQ-28. Exposure per shift only predicted scores on the intrusion subscale of the Impact of Event Scale-revised.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present study, the first of its kind, suggests that frequency rather than duration of exposure to images of graphic violence is more emotionally distressing to journalists working with User Generated Content material. Given that good journalism depends on healthy journalists, news organisations will need to look anew at what can be done to offset the risks inherent in viewing User Generated Content material. Our findings, in need of replication, suggest that reducing the frequency of exposure may be one way to go.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, 2075 Bayview Ave., Toronto, ON, Canada M4N 3M5 ; University of Toronto, 27 King's College Circle, Toronto, ON, Canada M5S 1A1.
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Feinstein
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, 2075 Bayview Ave., Toronto, ON, Canada M4N 3M5.
authors.forename: Blair
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Audet
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, 2075 Bayview Ave., Toronto, ON, Canada M4N 3M5.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Waknine
keywords: depression; journalists; posttraumatic stress; violent images