But what is the emotional toll after being on the front lines of history? History's First Draft is an SBS News podcast series unraveling the psychological journey journalists undertake to bring us the news. In this episode, journalist and author Bruce Shapiro breaks down the psychology behind reporting on major world events, and shares his insights on how PTSD and burnout can be avoided.
"We know from research all over the world that on the one hand, journalists actually are kind of a resilient tribe. We also know, however, that when threat is at a high enough level or horror is at a high enough level or if it's persistent enough, sometimes journalists' personal capacity can be over-topped. Sometimes journalists can be affected in profound ways.
"We do know that having a good tool kit, really learning the skills of interviewing people in distress, we know that learning how to fact-find, verify facts et cetera about challenging events, knowing how to edit video, all of those craft skills also give journalists more control over difficult events.
Public perception of the work journalists do is something which can also affect a reporter and contribute to feelings of burnout.