Campus Coverage of An Execution: A Narrative Analysis

Research demonstrates that most professional journalists will experience trauma in their work. Yet almost no research has focused on college students’ coverage of a traumatic event. Narrative analysis explores the experiences of 12 university students who reported and produced execution coverage for their college newscast. The data reveal that the students struggled with feelings of detachment, uncertainty, and dread before, during, and after the coverage. The research also explored the students’ reaction to counseling sessions scheduled by faculty to mitigate the trauma. Findings illuminate a path for student media programs to follow to help students prepare for potentially troubling content.