Here’s another reason to take war coverage with a grain of salt. Witnessing events on the frontlines makes journalists vulnerable to post-traumatic stress disorder. Although PTSD is usually associated with soldiers, the Christian Science Monitor highlights the fact that correspondents and photographers can leave war zones and other scenes of violence with emotional problems too.
One study of 140 war correspondents found that many showed symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, which frequently affects war veterans and survivors of violence. “There were high levels of broken relationships, alienation from others, drug and alcohol abuse,” Mr. Simpson says.
But some journalists, perhaps influenced by a combination of machismo and denial, fail to heed warning signs or simply don’t watch for them. “We never acknowledge the impact that operating in these combat zones has on us,” said Newsweek chief of correspondents Marcus Mabry, who covered the Bosnian conflict in the 1990s. “Usually when you realize it is when you don’t expect it: I was back in my home in Johannesburg, sitting in my living room with a 360-degree view, relaxing in a beautiful South African evening, and I’m looking down the hill, thinking this would be a great place to have a sniper’s nest. It was a war flashback.”
Some media organizations offer counseling to journalists after they cover violence or warfare; at The Christian Science Monitor, employees can seek assistance through their health insurance coverage. Across the news industry, however, it’s almost always up to individual journalists to decide whether to seek help. Many reporters don’t bother.
Of course, correspondents don’t stop reporting when their assignments in Iraq, Afghanistan or Bosnia come to an end. Some war correspondents come to Israel, where they cover the country’s war against Palestinian terror. Perhaps someone will study how PTSD affects coverage too.
