A judge ruled that a newspaper, like any employer, has "a duty to take reasonable care against the risk of foreseeable injury, including foreseeable psychiatric injury," to its staff. Will the threat of lawsuits push newsrooms to provide more support to journalists?
Historically, the idea of journalists suing their employers for occupational PTSD was unheard of. Newsroom culture dictated that journalists did whatever was asked of them, including intrusions on grieving relatives. Doing this sort of work was intrinsic to the so-called “school of hard knocks,” part of the initiation process for rookie journalists.
The academic literature shows that newsroom culture has been a key contributor to the problem of journalists feeling unable to express concerns about covering traumatic events for fear of appearing weak and unsuited to the job.
