Description:

On this episode, I team up with Dr. Mimi Perreault from the University of South Florida to talk all things disaster reporting. We dig into the vital role journalists play before, during and after natural disaster hits, as well as how to build relationships with your community that pay dividends in the aftermath. We also discuss how coverage of the victims can lead to meaningful change despite those stories being the most difficult to do. Dr. Perreault has been fascinated by natural disaster since she was a child, and I hope you find her information fascinating as well!

Chapter List:

00:00 Intro

01:18 A Career Dictated by Disaster

04:11 The Vital Role of Journalists During Disaster

08:01 Journalists are also a part of the Community during Disaster

11:31 Misinformation and Hurricane Helene

16:00 Journalists and PIOs during Disaster

20:04 Thoughtful Selection of Stories during Disaster

22:41 Creating Relationships Prior to Disaster

25:48 Reporting on and Supporting a Community

28:06 The Role of Journalists in Disaster Recovery

31:51 Thoughtful Coverage of Victims

35:40 The Importance of Positive Storytelling

38:17 Stories can have lasting impact

43:20 News Deserts and Connecting with your Community

45:36 Coping with Disaster as a Journalist

48:55 How to Connect with Dr. Perreault

49:19 Closing

Show Notes:

Learn more about Dr. Mimi Perreault here.

Follow her on Instagram: @mediatingmimi

Her articles we spoke about:

Perreault, M. F. (2026). The dynamic between journalists and disaster communicators: Best practices in crisis and disaster information sharing. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 54(1), 70–78. https://doi.org/10.1080/00909882.2025.2573959

Walsh, J. F., & Perreault, M. (2023). What’s with the water: The nature of reporting on the problem of nitrates in Nebraska. Newspaper Research Journal, 44(1), 53-70. https://doi.org/10.1177/07395329221143381

Perreault, M. (2021). Journalism Beyond the Command Post: Local Journalists as Strategic Citizen Stakeholders in Natural Disaster Recovery. Journalism Studies, 22(10), 1279–1297. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2021.1950565

Other resources mentioned:

Local News Go-Bag Toolkit: https://rjionline.org/news/introducing-the-local-news-go-bag-toolkit/

Global Center for Journalism and Trauma: https://gcjt.org/

Journalism Education and Trauma Research Group (JETREG): https://jetreg.blogs.lincoln.ac.uk/

Description

It’s never easy starting out in your first job as a reporter, but trying doing it right as a historic pandemic takes hold of the country. Follow that up with two police-involved fatal shootings, and you have the first few years of Anna Huntsman’s journalism career at Ideastream Public Radio in Cleveland, Ohio. In this episode, she talks candidly about how hard her first years were and how she coped with everything from isolation to protests and bodycam footage. She also shares valuable lessons for new and younger journalists, plus some of her favorite stories.

Chapters

00:00 Show Open

01:15 Anna Welcome

01:49 Anna's Career Journey

03:25 Falling in Love with Audio Storytelling

05:40 New Reporter Covering the Pandemic

08:27 Life without a Newsroom

11:06 Navigating a Pandemic

12:45 From a Pandemic to Civil Unrest

16:14 High Stress/High Emotion as a New Reporter

19:37 Another Police-Involved Shooting

21:55 Reporting on Graphic Body Cam Footage

23:37 Staying Focused on the Role

24:55 Coping with the Emotional Burden

26:51 Finding Joy in Hobbies

30:04 Lessons Learned about Boundaries and Capacity

35:20 Reflecting on Growth

38:54 Reflecting on Best Work

43:31 Conclusion

Show Notes

Anna’s Bio: https://www.ideastream.org/news/people/anna-huntsman

Anna’s Series, “Hidden History”: https://www.ideastream.org/hidden-history

On Instagram: @ideastreamneo

Anna’s Story “Wooster Woman Shares Barriers Deaf Immigrants Face in Citizenship Process”: https://www.ideastream.org/community/2025-03-03/journey-is-not-yet-over-wooster-woman-shares-barriers-deaf-immigrants-face-in-citizenship-process

Names/Organizations/Events Mentioned:
Kent State University School of Media and Journalism: www.kent.edu/mdj

News21 Fellowship: https://news21.com/join-our-team/

Amanda Rabinowitz: https://www.ideastream.org/news/people/amanda-rabinowitz

2022 – Jayland Walker: https://www.ideastream.org/tags/jayland-walker

2024 – Jazmir Tucker: https://www.ideastream.org/tags/jazmir-tucker

Description

In this episode, Dr. Denetra Walker breaks down the findings of her study, “’I saw a modern-day lynching’ – Black Journalists’ experiences of trauma #reportingwhileblack,” which was published in Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly in 2025. She provides a fascinating look into the emotional trauma the story caused for her study participants, plus the delicate balancing act Black journalists faced while reporting under such volatile conditions. It’s an eye-opening look into how journalists of color navigated such a racially polarizing story.

Chapters

00:00 Open

01:06 Intro to Dr. Denetra Walker

05:17 Academia is NOT like News!

07:09 Why did she do her study?

10:00 Black Journalists' Reactions to the Video of George Floyd

14:02 The Emotional Toll of Covering Black Deaths

15:58 Black Journalists' Struggle with the Decision to Watch the Video

18:18 Contributions of Newsroom Culture

21:16 Needing a Break but not wanting to Take One

26:37 The Compounding of Emotional Burden

27:56 Black Journalists and Extreme Self-Monitoring

33:14 Black Journalists Caught in the Middle

35:28 Seeking Emotional Support

36:53 The Pursuit of "Objectivity"

40:15 The Personal Connection in Storytelling

43:09 More on Extreme Self-Monitoring

46:06 Added Pressure and Trauma Symptoms

47:37 Bringing Research to the Classroom

52:04 Bringing Research to the Newsroom

56:38 George Floyd Still Resonates

58:11 Future Research Directions

01:01:51 Closing

Show Notes

Learn more about Dr. Denetra Walker here.
Contact Dr. Walker: DenetraWalker@uga.edu

Article Citation:
Walker, D. (2025). “I Saw a Modern-Day Lynching”: Black Journalists’ Experiences of Trauma #ReportingWhileBlack. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly (online first August 27, 2025), DOI: 10.1177/10776990251361797