For more than three decades, Michèle Anderson worked on the front lines of sex trafficking in Toronto, supporting victims and survivors through her role at a local non-profit organization.

Michèle speaks with Tamara about her experiences supporting survivors in their interactions with the media, her own interactions with the media, and the impact she saw the media have on survivors throughout the years. While Michèle speaks mostly about the harm that she has experienced and witnessed from the media, she also talks about the potential benefit that can come from survivors sharing their stories publicly.

“I think there are ways and pathways forward where it can be done in a very thoughtful, mindful, meaningful, supportive way,” Michèle says.

Though retired, Michèle remains a fierce advocate for sex trafficking survivors, including for their “right to be forgotten,” which she speaks about in this episode. She discusses the importance of consent when writing about the trauma of others and providing agency in the ways in which their stories are collected and shared.

As per trauma-informed practice, each guest in The Trauma Beat podcast is afforded the opportunity to review and veto a list of anticipated questions before the recorded conversation. Ongoing, informed consent is sought throughout the production process.

This conversation was recorded in March 2024.

For more trauma-informed storytelling resources, visit pickupcommunications.com.

It was during the pandemic, and all the stressful stories that came along with it, that Dave Seglins was assigned a story about a historical child murder case. And he couldn’t do it.

By this point, Dave knew a thing or two about his mental health. Years earlier, he had been diagnosed with PTSD following his coverage of a trauma-filled court case. And in that moment that he was assigned that historical child murder case, he knew he didn’t have the capacity. The reaction from his boss, he recalls, was that Dave wasn’t allowed to refuse an assignment and that if he couldn’t handle it, perhaps he should be in a different job.

“The words were, ‘This is not the way it’s supposed to work.’ And I reflected on that and I said, ‘You know what? This is exactly how it’s supposed to work. I’m a 25-year veteran who’s been through the wringer. I know what PTSD is. If I’m in the height of stress and I can’t put up my hand, you know, as a senior white guy in the newsroom with a secure, union-protected job, who can?’”

That experience inspired Dave’s crusade to create safer and healthier workplaces for journalists across the country.

In this conversation, the investigative journalist and self-described Well-Being Champion speaks with Tamara about the “trauma load” experienced by many journalists and his efforts to make things better, not only for his colleagues at Canada’s public broadcaster, but for journalists across the country. When he’s not reporting and hosting shows for CBC, Dave is focused on research, advocacy, training and building better supports to enhance mental health and well-being within the industry. He was the co-lead of a national Take Care Survey, which studied the well-being of more than 1,200 journalists across Canada, and holds certificates in Global Mental Health and Trauma and Mental Health First Aid.

Resources:

Taking Care Report

As per trauma-informed practice, each guest in The Trauma Beat podcast is afforded the opportunity to review and veto a list of anticipated questions before the recorded conversation. Ongoing, informed consent is sought throughout the production process.

This conversation was recorded in November 2023.

For more trauma-informed storytelling resources, visit pickupcommunications.com.

Dr. Anthony Feinstein is a world-renowned psychiatrist who has spent much of his career studying the impact of trauma on journalists who work in war zones and under oppressive regimes. He is also the person who first introduced Tamara to the term “moral injury.”

In this episode, Dr. Feinstein discusses the concept of moral injury as it pertains to local news reporters, along with the responsibility of journalists and newsroom managers to ensure victims and survivors of traumatic events are handled in an ethical, trauma-informed way.

“In my profession, in medicine, the cardinal rule is doctor do no harm. And I think you have to bring that same lens to what you do as well,” Dr. Feinstein says of approaching victims and survivors in the immediate aftermath of traumatic events. “Because in that particular moment, you are getting that person at their most vulnerable, at a moment of overwhelming trauma.”

In illustrating the impact of photojournalism on trauma survivors, Dr. Feinstein refers to the Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph taken by an amateur photographer in the aftermath of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, and how harmful that iconic photo was for the family of the baby whose body was featured in the image. “Every time this woman sees the photograph, it reminds her of what happened,” he says. “From a trauma perspective, that’s a very difficult situation to deal with. So if you can prevent that, if you can lessen that, for me, that becomes a priority, not the Pulitzer photograph.”

Dr. Feinstein also discusses to the shame and guilt that most often accompany moral injury, sometimes alongside anger, disgust and contempt. He discusses how moral injury suffered by journalists can impact their journalism, and how newsroom managers can measure the risk of moral injury through the use of the Toronto Moral Injury Scale for Journalists.

Dr. Feinstein’s latest book, Moral Courage: 19 Profiles of Investigative Journalists, presents moral courage as the antidote to moral injury. All royalties from the sale of Moral Courage go toward covering the cost of therapy for freelance journalists.

Resources:

Moral Courage: 19 Profiles of Investigative Journalists

Dr. Feinstein’s series on Moral Courage for The Globe and Mail

Witnessing images of extreme violence: a psychological study of journalists in the newsroom

Trauma Assistance Fund for Freelancers

As per trauma-informed practice, each guest in The Trauma Beat podcast is afforded the opportunity to review and veto a list of anticipated questions before the recorded conversation. Ongoing, informed consent is sought throughout the production process.

This conversation was recorded in March 2024.

For more trauma-informed storytelling resources, visit pickupcommunications.com.