The Impact of the Media

A Survey for Members of the Media

The following survey is intended to be used as research about the impact of the media on victims and survivors of traumatic events. This research is being conducted by former journalist, Victimology professor and Pickup Communications founder Tamara Cherry with the goal of producing educational materials that will help investigators, victim service providers and members of the media better understand and support victims and survivors in their interactions (or lack thereof) with the media. Your responses may be quoted fully, or in part, within materials (such as a research paper, book, presentations and various other educational tools) connected to the research. If you do not wish to be identified in these materials, please indicate in the appropriate section at the end of this survey and your wishes will be respected. Please answer each question as fully as you feel comfortable.

Thank you for your participation. Your voice is important and your insights are valuable.
1.Your name (please indicate if you are using a pseudonym and why):(Required.)
2.Place/city of employment:(Required.)
3.How many years have you been a journalist?(Required.)
4.What is your role? (Check all that apply)(Required.)
5.On average, how frequently to you cover traumatic events? (ie homicides, motor vehicle fatalities, mass casualty incidents, sexual assaults) and/or interact with victims/survivors of these events?(Required.)
6.Before becoming a journalist, to what extent and in what context do you recall receiving training in covering traumatic events, interacting with victims/survivors, trauma-informed interview techniques and/or trauma-sensitive language?(Required.)
7.To what extent and in what context (if any) have you received such training during your career?(Required.)
8.What do you recall about your first interactions with victims/survivors of traumatic events early in your career? Did you feel prepared for these interactions?
9.Does your newsroom have guidelines for interacting with victims/survivors of traumatic events?
10.In a breaking news situation, how soon after arriving on scene and/or hearing about the event are you expected to file information to your newsroom and/or social media? (Check all that apply)
11.How important are the voices of victims/survivors in your coverage of traumatic events? Why?
12.Generally speaking, how soon after a traumatic event such as a homicide or motor vehicle fatality will you first attempt to contact survivors (ie, victim's family members)?
13.Describe your level of comfort in reaching out to victims/survivors in the immediate aftermath (ie first 72 hours) of traumatic events?
14.In which of the following settings have you approached victims/survivors of traumatic events without a pre-arranged meeting? (Check all that apply)
15.In covering traumatic events that involve fatalities, how important are images depicting a deceased body (such as a body bag, body under a blanket, etc.) in illustrating your story? Why?
16.How important are images that illustrate the trauma suffered — such as the family member of a deceased person reacting at the scene in the immediate aftermath of a homicide, cell phone video of panicked people running from gunfire, or mourners loading a casket into a hearse — in your storytelling? Why?
17.In covering motor vehicle fatalities, how important do you think it is that viewers/readers see images of the vehicle wreckage? Why?
18.To what extent and in what context have you received training regarding self-care in the aftermath of covering traumatic events, such as breaking news, interviews with survivors, upsetting court cases, etc.?
19.What sort of self-care do you practice during and/or after covering these events?
20.What impact has covering traumatic events had on you?
21.What sort of support do you receive from your employer in the aftermath of covering traumatic events?
22.To what extent do you work with professional liaisons, such as victim service providers and/or police officers to contact or communicate with victims/survivors of traumatic events?
23.If a deceased person’s family were to refuse comment in the immediate aftermath of their loved one’s death, how likely would you be to reach out to that family again within the week?
24.If a deceased person's family were to release a written statement about their loved one in the immediate aftermath of their loved one’s death, including a request for privacy, how likely would you be to reach out to that family again within the week?
25.In an ideal world, are there any resources that you do not already have that would assist you in telling informed, compelling and timely stories that are also sensitive to the trauma suffered by victims/survivors?
26.What role do you think journalism employers should play in ensuring trauma-sensitive coverage of traumatic events?
27.What role do you think employers should play in ensuring care of journalists covering these events?
28.Is there anything else you would like people to know about how the media covers traumatic events and the impact of this coverage on victims, survivors and members of the media?
29.Are you comfortable with your responses being quoted and attributed to you in the materials produced from this research?
30.Are you comfortable being contacted for follow-up information or clarification of your responses, should the need arise? If so, please share your preferred method of contact here.