Tuesday, December 29, 2015

"Reporters claim PTSD from watching violent news"

Second hand smoke?
Most have never left the comfort of their big city offices, but a growing number of reporters and editors are claiming to suffer trauma from watching and posting violent videos on news sites, according to a new study of media and human rights workers.
Their coping mechanisms can be just as bad: heavy drinking, binge-eating and sex. Said the study: "Unhealthy coping mechanisms included frequent one night stands or, as a documentary journalist called it: 'Head-down sex with different people every night.'"
The study uncovered claims of PTSD and "vicarious trauma" from those working with video and audio showing terrorist beheadings and city shootings. The biggest impact came from the sounds of victims screaming.
"Whether it is a broadcaster, publisher, human rights or humanitarian professional, symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) - which were previously only observed in professionals deployed in the field - are now evident amongst staff working in offices on what we call the digital frontline," said the study from British-based Eyewitness Media Hub.
"Forty percent of survey respondents said that viewing distressing eyewitness media has had a negative impact on their personal lives...."

20 comments:

bagoh20 said...

I watched the beheading video of Nicholas Berg way back in 2004. I have not watched one since. I think it was valuable to see that kind of viciousness once so I know it's real and how awful it is, but I was affected by it for days, and I still see and hear it in my head anytime the subject comes up. I think seeing that kind of thing regularly would have a profound affect on you, but I would never blame it for my drinking, overeating, and desire for casual sex. What excuse do the rest of us have?

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

I get PTSD from watching Quentin Tarantino flicks.

edutcher said...

I'll tell the guys coming back from A-stan.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

If Trump becomes president reporters are going to claim PiTSD. The I is for insult.

AllenS said...

Trump will give then PMS.

Chip Ahoy said...

What a bummer.

I haven't watched any of the beheading videos because that is what radical islam wants me to do.

Chip Ahoy said...

Just opened Tehran, Iran in Google Earth.

No street views. So, cut off.

Paranoia right there. No street view for such a huge place = paranoia, simple as that. It reeks.

Why?

Vulnerability. It's quite obvious. They're terrified of having their vulnerabilities known. One good shake and the whole place tumbles but you don't even need one good shake to ruin the whole thing. It's that vulnerable. All that is needed is a few good splat, splat, splats, and the whole place is functionally disabled. The photographs show near-children trying desperately to have something resembling modern city with fair-like appearances. Repeated shots of the same stupid poorly executed monumental statue. Everything is low. Nothing taller than minarets, of course, And I'm surprised to learn that it snows there.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Chip Ahoy.

bagoh20 said...

The U.S. Military has their own satellite photography, but Obama requires them to use Bing, because Mr. Bing let him win a game of H-O-R-S-E one time, and it wasn't easy.

Titus said...

Obama is so awful, hate him and Hilary and all liberals.

They can never take away our voices or hate though!

Hubby and I are heading to Ptown for the new year so posting will be light!

Have a republican, patriotic, and Obama/libtard hating New Year!

Hugs oldies who can't get a hardon or date.

love,

tits.

chickelit said...

Do us a favor Titus and report back on the growing strength of the "Bottom For Hillary" movement in P-Town.

Asking for a friend.

chickelit said...

Gays must be super conflicted this election: their natural ally is the political bottom-feeder, Rodham. OTOH, major gay donors like Geffen aren't exactly Rodham-friendly. And Trump? Though he's been accused of insulting everybody else, he hasn't managed to insult the G's in the GBLT sandwich -- the L's for sure with his digs at Rosie-O. The vaunted gay-money prolly doesn't mean much to Trump. Yep, I think Rodham is probably Titus's gal-pal.

Gross!

Chip Ahoy said...

It's still early. Seems much later.

There I was setting up the camera with the phone attached, I watched it take three and satisfied it's going and sat down and fell asleep so hard it's like dropping a sack of nickels, thud, asleep just like that.

I woke up and it's dark. Surely, the camera is finished with all 300 frames hours ago. That's what it felt like. That deep a sleep. Dream and everything.

Wanna hear the dream? Takes too long. That's how long it was.

But the camera suddenly snaps. It's still going. It took less than 200. That's how short it actually was. A total time warp I tell you. It sopla me mente.

*does the mind + blown signs, with stunned facial expression *

You'll probably want to see it. Who wouldn't? It takes a moment to load. Refresh works for me.

And I learn as I go.

It's like sourdough, there's a lot to keep in mind as you go along, a lot that comes together and a lot that can go wrong, every single error must be made at least once.

So why do two frames in a row suddenly get knocked out of joint smack in the middle when I'm sleeping with no chance of slamming a door or anything?

Earthquake or something it must be, some shaking disturbance.

I tell my friends since my legs freaked out I can feel vibrations in the building through my butt when I'm sitting here and they're certain I'm being silly and now the tripod is doing this thing like zoink on a very solid surface.

Photography-wise I learned it's better to remove the two frames than keep them. It's not noticeable at all without them. But it sure is noticeable with them.

Get what I learned, this is brillo pads, two things.

1) grab the entire group in RAW and adjust the white balance for everything at once. Pick something that is certainly white, use the eyedropper and that will be white for everything. And make any other universal adjustments you've become used to a certain set of manual adjustments one decides on their own, mid-tone, saturation, vignetting, lens correction etc.

2) Go the end, the darkest frame so that it displays and grab the next 10-15 or so previous frames that are not displaying and adjust all their exposure at once to be darkest. Note the number. Say, I go -200 to make it much darker. Proper night time.

Take the next 10-15 frames or so and adjust the entire group -180 and so on reducing the adjustment to darkness by -20 each time, so -160, then -140 and so on all the way to -20, then -10, and -5 for hardly any difference at all. And that de-corrects the camera's exposure correction for the sequence of frames. This takes a bit of mathematical intuition that calculates for the total number of frames, how many should be grabbed each time to arrive at 0 before arriving back at the beginning. Clever, eh? Also a bit tedious.

rcommal said...

LOL.

---

Toldja.

Jim in St Louis said...

George Bush is very big into working with PSTD vets, he jogs and he does bike-a-thons with them along those endless flat TX miles. And no, he does not promote it and invite reporters along for publicity credits.

Bush spoke about changing the terminology to post traumatic stress injury, rather than disorder. A disorder sounds like something chronic that can never heal. An injury is something that happened, and if you do your therapy, take your meds, follow the treatment plan, then yes you can get better.

God bless that good man, its almost enough to make me turn republican.

bagoh20 said...

Yea, not real fond of Obama, or feces, or semen, or sex with stranger is toilets. Go figure.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Teh gays, like our "that funny feeling" obsessed tits, will always go democrat. they only care in the periphery, and they h8te h8ters, and Rodham will spread her bureaucratic love and that sounds good like a good jerky session with a stranger. h8ters.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Teh gays don't like Rodham's frump. That is her only hurdle with the deep thinkers. h8ters.

rcommal said...

Hmm.

I feel contempt for those "journalists," erstwhile reporters. GMAFB.

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Also, just a reminder: [among other things] I did do some crime reporting back in the day.

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Also, another reminder, I did also do some editing at a foreign policy journal back in the later day. It was a minor thing, but my hiring did have to get sign-off from the academic editor at the time:

rcommal said...

I'm all for sharply observant eyes, warmly open ears, and strictly disciplined minds. It just that I'm not "all in" for how others choose to mix those ingredients into a toxic brew in order to poison others into submission--even at the cost of betraying the very principles of enlightenment for which they're supposedly championing.

^^^^^^

Honest sorts will recognize ^. Others--who knows?