Could Combat Stress Affect Journalists' News Reporting? A Psychophysiological Response.

Covering war conflicts may compromise the psychological and physical health of journalists because chronic exposure to these environments has been related to depression, memory dissociative processes, and post-traumatic stress disorder; however, acute effects have not been studied yet. Thus, a combat simulation was carried out replicating actual warfare scenarios, including personnel and equipment. Psychophysiological response, memory, and information-processing were analysed of 40 professional soldiers (21 males and 19 females) and 19 journalists (12 males and 7 females) with international experience in current conflict areas such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo, in relation to their experience of a combat intervention. A significant increase (p < 0.05) in metabolic, muscular, cardiovascular, and cortical and psychological anxiety response, as well as a decrease in memory accuracy directly after and 24 h and 72 h post-combat were found; these modifications were modulated by the nature of the stimulus. Journalists presented higher cognitive and memory impairment than soldiers, resulting in a press reporting of real events accuracy of only 27%.

The reach of commercially motivated junk news on Facebook.

Commercially motivated junk news-i.e. money-driven, highly shareable clickbait with low journalistic production standards-constitutes a vast and largely unexplored news media ecosystem. Using publicly available Facebook data, we compared the reach of junk news on Facebook pages in the Netherlands to the reach of Dutch mainstream news on Facebook. During the period 2013-2017 the total number of user interactions with junk news significantly exceeded that with mainstream news. Over 5 Million of the 10 Million Dutch Facebook users have interacted with a junk news post at least once. Junk news Facebook pages also had a significantly stronger increase in the number of user interactions over time than mainstream news. Since the beginning of 2016 the average number of user interactions per junk news post has consistently exceeded the average number of user interactions per mainstream news post.

Information on nosocomial infections in the mainstream media: an opinion document / Información sobre las infecciones nosocomiales en los principales medios: un documento de opinión

This paper seeks to explore the reasons for the low impact of nosocomial infection in the mainstream media and the responsibilities of physicians and journalists in terms of this situation. To this end, a small group of 13 experts met for round-table discussions, including physicians with expertise in nosocomial infection, medical lawsuits and ethics, as well as journalists from major mainstream Spanish media outlets. The various participants were asked a series of questions prior to the meeting, which were answered in writing by one of the speakers and discussed during the meeting by the whole group, the aim being to obtain consensual conclusions for each of them. The document was subsequently reviewed, edited and forwarded to all co-authors for their agreement. The opinions expressed are the personal opinions of the participants and not necessarily those of the institutions in which they work or with which they collaborate

Este documento busca explorar las razones del bajo impacto de la infección nosocomial en los medios de comunicación tradicionales y las responsabilidades de los médicos y periodistas en esta situación. Con este fin se realizó una mesa redonda con un pequeño grupo de 13 expertos, incluidos médicos con experiencia en infecciones nosocomiales, legislación médica y ética, así como periodistas de los principales medios de comunicación españoles. Antes de la reunión, se les hicieron una serie de preguntas a los participantes, las cuales fueron respondidas por escrito por cada uno y discutidas durante la reunión por todo el grupo, con el objetivo de obtener conclusiones consensuadas para cada una de ellas. El documento fue posteriormente revisado, editado y enviado a todos los coautores para su acuerdo. Las opiniones expresadas por cada participante son propias y no necesariamente de las instituciones en las que trabajan o con las que colaboran

Heroes or Health Victims?: Exploring How the Elite Media Frames Veterans on Veterans Day.

We examine the frames the elite news media uses to portray veterans on and surrounding Veterans Day 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015. We use mental health illness and media framing literature to explore how, why, and to what extent Veterans Day news coverage uses different media frames across the four consecutive years. We compiled a Media Coverage Corpora for each year, which contains the quotes and paraphrased remarks used in all veterans news stories for that year. In our primary study, we applied the meaning extraction method (MEM) to extract emergent media frames for Veterans Day 2014 and compiled a word frequency list, which captures the words most commonly used within the corpora. In post hoc analyses, we collected news stories and compiled word frequency lists for Veterans Day 2012, 2013, and 2015. Our findings reveal dissenting frames across 2012, 2013, and 2014 Veterans Day media coverage. Word frequency results suggest the 2012 and 2013 media frames largely celebrate Veterans as heroes, but the 2014 coverage depicts veterans as victimized by their wartime experiences. Furthermore, our results demonstrate how the prevailing 2015 media frames could be a reaction to 2014 frames that portrayed veterans as health victims. We consider the ramifications of this binary portrayal of veterans as either health victims or heroes and discuss the implications of these dueling frames for veterans' access to healthcare resources.

How Journalists Characterize Health Inequalities and Redefine Solutions for Native American Audiences.

Many Native American communities experience severe health inequalities, including shorter average lifespan and higher rates of chronic illnesses. Journalism that serves Native Americans is a promising channel for heath communication, but only if scholars first understand the particular cultural contexts of indigenous communities. This research contributes to that goal by investigating how journalists serving Native American communities characterize health and the issues they identify with covering determinants of health. In in-depth interviews (N = 24), journalists contrasted how they cover health issues as embedded in cultural context with shallow, more negative coverage by non-Native media organizations. Interviews also revealed a tension between "medical" and "cultural" models of health, contributing to the oversaturation of certain issues, like diabetes, while other health topics are underrepresented. The journalists also expressed how social determinants and histories of oppression shape health inequalities, illuminating the roles of historical trauma and the destruction of indigenous health beliefs and behaviors. Failure to recognize these issues could stymie efforts to communicate about health issues facing Native American audiences.

A biografia escrita por Reila Gracie e as fontes jornalísticas: revisando a história hegemônica / A biography written by Reila Gracie and journalistic sources: reviewing a hegemonic history / La biografía escrita por Reila Gracie y las fuentes periodísticas: revisión de la historia hegemónica

O objetivo da presente pesquisa consiste em relacionar a narrativa desenvolvida na biografia Carlos Gracie: o criador de uma dinastia, de 2008, e a perspectiva veiculada por alguns periódicos cariocas do início do século XX, no que se refere ao estabelecimento e disseminação do jiu-jítsu e dos combates intermodalidades no Brasil, em especial na cidade do Rio de Janeiro. Para tanto, utilizaram-se os preceitos metodológicos acerca das particularidades das fontes biográficas e jornalísticas. A partir da análise das referidas fontes, pode-se pensar a hipótese de que Reila Gracie tenha lançado mão de uma tradição inventada, por meio da biografia e aproveitando-se da dimensão ficcional peculiar a tal gênero, com sentido de atribuir aos integrantes da família Gracie o pioneirismo do jiu-jítsu e dos combates intermodalidades no Brasil

This research discusses the narratives developed in the 2008 biography Carlos Gracie: o criador de uma dinastia and the perspective spread by some Rio de Janeiro based newspapers during the early 20th century on the establishment of jiu jitsu and interfight competitions in Brazil. Therefore, we used methodological frameworks about the particularities of biographical and journalistic sources. From the analysis of those sources, it is possible to think about the hypothesis that Reila Gracie used an invented tradition, through biography and its peculiar fictional dimension, thus establishing the Gracie family as a pioneer in jiu-jitsu and inter-fight competitions in Brazil

El objetivo de esta investigación es relacionar la narrativa desarrollada en la biografía Carlos Gracie: o criador de uma dinastia, de 2008, con la perspectiva transmitida por algunos periódicos de Rio de Janeiro a inicios del siglo XX, en lo que se refiere al establecimiento y diseminación del jiu-jitsu y de los combates entre modalidades en Brasil, especialmente en la ciudad de Río de Janeiro. Para ello, hemos utilizado los preceptos metodológicos sobre las particularidades de las fuentes biográficas y periodísticas. A partir del análisis de estas fuentes, es posible pensar la hipótesis de que Reila Gracie haya hecho uso de una tradición inventada, a través de la biografía, aprovechándose de la dimensión ficcional propia de este género, en el sentido de atribuir a los integrantes de la familia Gracie el pionerismo en el jiu-jitsu y los combates entre modalidades en Brasil

What I learned from predatory publishers.

This article is a first-hand account of the author's work identifying and listing predatory publishers from 2012 to 2017. Predatory publishers use the gold (author pays) open access model and aim to generate as much revenue as possible, often foregoing a proper peer review. The paper details how predatory publishers came to exist and shows how they were largely enabled and condoned by the open-access social movement, the scholarly publishing industry, and academic librarians. The author describes tactics predatory publishers used to attempt to be removed from his lists, details the damage predatory journals cause to science, and comments on the future of scholarly publishing.

Ethical issues in publishing in predatory journals.

Predatory journals, or journals that charge an article processing charge (APC) to authors, yet do not have the hallmarks of legitimate scholarly journals such as peer review and editing, Editorial Boards, editorial offices, and other editorial standards, pose a number of new ethical issues in journal publishing. This paper discusses ethical issues around predatory journals and publishing in them. These issues include misrepresentation; lack of editorial and publishing standards and practices; academic deception; research and funding wasted; lack of archived content; and undermining confidence in research literature. It is important that the scholarly community, including authors, institutions, editors, and publishers, support the legitimate scholarly research enterprise, and avoid supporting predatory journals by not publishing in them, serving as their editors or on the Editorial Boards, or permitting faculty to knowingly publish in them without consequences.

Journalists’occupational stress: a comparative study between reporting critical events and domestic news

Nowadays, journalism is considered a stressful occupation, not only due to the stress perceived in journalists’ daily work but also due to the critical, potentially traumatic events they report. However, research on journalists’ occupational stress in both these professional settings is still scarce. This study aims to characterize and compare occupational stress variables perceived by journalists in their daily work and in critical scenarios. Taking the Holistic Model of Occupational Stress by Nelson and Simmons (2003) as a framework, 25 Portuguese journalists, all with experience in reporting critical events, were interviewed on their perceptions of some core variables of the model: occupational stressors, distress and eustress emotional reactions, and the consequences of these experiences on their well-being. Differences among these core variables, according to the number of deployments to a critical event, were statistically analysed in order to ascertain whether repeated exposure to trauma influenced journalists’ occupational stress perceptions. The data content analysis showed that occupational stressors and emotional reactions differed across settings, while the consequences associated with journalists’ experiences were perceived as being mainly negative in both occupational contexts. Significant differences were identified in some of these variables according to the number of deployments to a critical event (p < .05). These findings may contribute to a reflection on the role of media organizations in preparing and supporting journalists in their work performance, and on the promotion of occupational health within the scope of journalists’ daily work and critical events. The article closes with considerations for future studies (AU)

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Saúde e meio ambiente nos currículos dos cursos de graduação em comunicação social no Brasil / Health and environment in the curriculums of social communication undergraduate degree in Brazil / Salud y medio ambiente en los curriculos de la licenciatura en comunicación social en Brasil

Acreditamos que a insuficiência de formação em temas de saúde e meio ambiente resulta em coberturas jornalísticas superficiais e em discussões limitadas por parte das assessorias de comunicação ou dos profissionais encarregados das relações públicas no mundo corporativo e no terceiro setor. No caso da graduação em comunicação social no Brasil, uma discussão em torno dos currículos parece ser especialmente oportuna, pois integrar comunicação, saúde e meio ambiente implica em superar a lógica disciplinar na formação superior. Este artigo descreve o cenário da oferta de cursos sobre esses temas pelas instituições de ensino superior brasileiras, utilizando a análise de conteúdo para inferir temáticas recorrentes a partir de categorias presentes nas ementas disponíveis na internet. Os resultados não identificaram a abordagem do trinômio comunicação-saúde-meio ambiente de modo integrado nas graduações em comunicação, indicando, porém, associações entre dois dos temas, especialmente saúde e meio ambiente.

We think that insufficient training in health and environment issues results in superficial news coverage and limited discussions by communication consultants or by respon- sible people for public relations of the corporate world and the third sector organizations. In regard to social communication undergraduate degree, a debate about curriculums could be especially timely insofar as to integrate communication, health and the environment there is a need for overcoming the disciplinary logic in higher education. This paper describes the scenario of the courses on these subjects offered by Brazilian higher education institutions, using the content analysis to infer recurring themes from existent categories found in available registers at the internet. Although no result have revealed an approach of trinomial communication-health-environmentin an integrated manner in the social communication undergraduate degree in Brazil, the analysis presents several associations of two of those subjects, particularly health and environment.

Creemos que la insuficiente formación en temas de salud y medio ambiente resulta en una cobertura periodística sin profundidad y en discusiones limitadas entre los asesores de comunicación o los relacionistas públicos del mundo empresarial y del tercer sector. En el caso de los estudios de graduación en comunicación social, una discusión de los currículos parece especialmente oportuna puesto quela integración de la comunicación, la salud y el medio ambiente presupone la superación de la lógica disciplinar en la educación superior. Este artículo describe el escenario de la oferta de cursos acerca de aquellos temas por las instituciones brasileñas de enseñanza superior, adoptando el análisis de contenido para inferir temas recurrentes de las categorías presentes en los registros disponibles en internet. Aun que los resultados no hayan identificado el trinomio comunicación-salud-medio ambiente tratado de manera integrada en los cursos de graduación en comunicación social en Brasil, pero se ha observado asociaciones entre dos de los temas, en especial la salud y el medio ambiente.

Newspaper reporting and the emergence of charcoal burning suicide in Taiwan: A mixed methods approach.

BACKGROUND: It has been suggested that extensive media reporting of charcoal burning suicide was a key factor in the rapid spread of this novel method in many East Asian countries. But very few empirical studies have explored the relationship between media reporting and the emergence of this new method of suicide. AIMS: We investigated the changing pattern of media reporting of charcoal burning suicides in Taiwan during 1998-2002 when this method of suicide increased most rapidly, assessing whether the characteristics of media reporting were associated with the changing incidence of suicide using this method. METHODS: A mixed method approach, combining quantitative and qualitative analysis of newspaper content during 1998-2002 was used. We compared differences in reporting characteristics before and after the rapid increase in charcoal burning suicide. Point-biserial and Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated to quantify the associations between the media item content and changes in suicide rates. RESULTS: During the period when charcoal burning suicide increased rapidly, the number of reports per suicide was considerably higher than during the early stage (0.31 vs. 0.10). Detailed reporting of this new method was associated with a post-reporting increase in suicides using the method. Qualitative analysis of news items revealed that the content of reports of suicide by charcoal burning changed gradually; in the early stages of the epidemic (1999-2000) there was convergence in the terminology used to report charcoal burning deaths, later reports gave detailed descriptions of the setting in which the death occurred (2001) and finally the method was glamourized and widely publicized (2001-2002). LIMITATIONS: Our analysis was restricted to newspaper reports and did not include TV or the Internet. CONCLUSIONS: Newspaper reporting was associated with the evolution and establishment of charcoal burning suicide. Working with media and close monitoring of changes in the incidence of suicide using a new method might help prevent a suicide epidemic such as charcoal burning suicide seen in Taiwan.

Relationships between occupational functioning and stress among radio journalists--Assessment by means of the Psychosocial Risk Scale.

OBJECTIVES: Job characteristics and the consequences of everyday stress among radio journalists who are not exposed to traumatic events have not been studied sufficiently before. We aimed at determining the most common job characteristics and their stressfulness; relationships between stress exposure, health and occupational functioning; differences between radio journalists and other journalists, and also the psychosocial risk for health and functioning in this group. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The studied group involved 208 journalists, 134 of whom worked in radio stations. The respondents filled in the Psychosocial Risks Scale (PRS) developed by the Department of Health and Work Psychology of the Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Lódz, Poland. RESULTS: Requirement of mental effort and readiness to response quickly for most of the time as well as limited possibilities for promotion were the most frequent journalists' complaints. We confirmed that higher levels of stress resulted in worse functioning--the radio journalists who experienced lower stress assessed their health status and ability to work better, were more satisfied with particular aspects of their work, and were more involved in their work. They also presented a significantly lower turnover intention. Moreover, the radio journalists were more involved in their work than other journalists, but experienced lower satisfaction, took more sick leaves and had more days of absence. CONCLUSIONS: Well-known relationships between stress level, satisfaction and occupational functioning were confirmed. The most important conclusion refers to the fact that psychosocial risks and stress analysis should be based on the understanding of specificity of each occupation or even position. It is so, because the same job characteristic may pose a challenge for one person, while for another--it can result in extreme discomfort and anxiety--such an attitude broadens understanding of the phenomenon. We also confirmed that the PRS is a well-designed method, appropriate to investigate an individual perception of job environment and its stressfulness. Future research on causal relationships between the variables is recommended.

Journalists and substance use: A systematic literature review.

BACKGROUND: Journalists' exposure to potentially traumatic events (PTEs), high levels of job stress, and anecdotal reports within the industry seem to suggest that journalists are at greater risk than the general population to experience substance use disorders. The present systematic literature review (SLR) aims to provide a concise, comprehensive, and systematic review of the quantitative literature relating to journalists' experience of substance use. METHODS: The systematic review method adopted within the present study was based on that prescribed by Fink in the 2010 book, Conducting systematic literature reviews: From the internet to paper, 3rd ed., which contains three main elements: sampling the literature, screening the literature, and extracting data. RESULTS: Alcohol consumption is the most widely studied substance in journalist samples and is discussed in relation to quantity, level of risk, and potential alcoholism. The review also considers journalists' use of substances, including cigarettes, cannabis, and other illicit substances. In particular, comparisons are made between journalistic roles and gender. CONCLUSIONS: The research is piecemeal in nature, in that more recent research does not build upon the research that has come before it. Much of what has been reported does not reflect the progress that has taken place in recent years within the alcohol consumption and substance use field in terms of theory, assessment, scale development, practice, and interventions with those who use or are addicted to various substances. This SLR raises a number of methodological and theoretical issues to be explored and addressed in future research.

"Crashing the gates" - selection criteria for television news reporting of traffic crashes.

This study investigates which crash characteristics influence the probability that the crash is reported in the television news. To this purpose, all news items from the period 2006-2012 about traffic crashes from the prime time news of two Belgian television channels are linked to the official injury crash database. Logistic regression models are built for the database of all injury crashes and for the subset of fatal crashes to identify crash characteristics that correlate with a lower or higher probability of being reported in the news. A number of significant biases in terms of crash severity, time, place, types of involved road users and victims' personal characteristics are found in the media reporting of crashes. More severe crashes are reported in the media more easily than less severe crashes. Significant fluctuations in media reporting probability through time are found in terms of the year and month in which the crash took place. Crashes during week days are generally less reported in the news. The geographical area (province) in which the crash takes place also has a significant impact on the probability of being reported in the news. Crashes on motorways are significantly more represented in the news. Regarding the age of the involved victims, a clear trend of higher media reporting rates of crashes involving young victims or young fatalities is observed. Crashes involving female fatalities are also more frequently reported in the news. Furthermore, crashes involving a bus have a significantly higher probability of being reported in the news, while crashes involving a motorcycle have a significantly lower probability. Some models also indicate a lower reporting rate of crashes involving a moped, and a higher reporting rate of crashes involving heavy goods vehicles. These biases in media reporting can create skewed perceptions in the general public about the prevalence of traffic crashes and eventually may influence people's behaviour.

[Occupational stress and psychosocial risk among journalists]. / Stres zawodowy a ryzyko psychospoleczne w grupie dziennikarzy.

BACKGROUND: Traumatic stress symptoms in journalists are well known but chronic occupational stress in this professional group is still to be elucidated. This study aimed at answering the following questions: (1) which of psychosocial risks (PRs) are most frequently reported as stressogenic in journalists, (2) are there any differences in exposure to PRs and their stressfulness between journalists and other professional groups, (3) what relationships occur between PR categories of stressfulness and their consequences for employees' functioning in the job, and (4) what is the risk of negative consequences of stress (health deterioration and worse job performance). MATERIAL AND METHODS: The Psychosocial Risk Scale was used to investigate general and specific PRs at work and the stressfulness of particular PRs. A group of 211 journalists working in Polish newspapers, radio and TV editorial offices participated in the study. RESULTS: The journalists experienced occupational stress at an average level, but at significantly lower than other professional groups. The study revealed the risk of health self-assessment deterioration, depending on specific risks (OR = 1.849, 95% CI: 1.068-3.203), risk of work organization dissatisfaction due to the impact of stress arising from the contextual job characteristics (OR = 1.942, 95% CI: 1.125-3.352) and dissatisfaction with relationships with co-workers due to the stressfulness of pathologies occurring in the workplace (OR = 2.012, 95% CI: 1.184-3.419). CONCLUSIONS: The study results evidence that occupational stress experienced by journalists determine the risk of health self-assessment, satisfaction with work organization and interpersonal relationships. The presented outcomes indicate that regardless of the experienced stress level it is necessary to assess the psychosocial risk because even an average level of stressfulness could be associated with the risk of adverse consequences for employees in terms of their job performance.