How should journalists deal with reporting violence and human suffering? How are journalists themselves affected by this? Next Monday, La Trobe Journalism welcomes Cait McMahon as a guest lecturer in Dilemmas in Journalism: Legal and Ethical Issues.
McMahon is a registered psychologist and full-time managing director of Dart Centre Australasia, which is the regional hub for media and trauma professionals and students who believe that effective reporting on violence matters. With permanent offices in Melbourne, Australia and training programs and other activities throughout the Asia Pacific, DCA works to promote discussion, develop training, and exchange specialist knowledge on the most challenging of media issues.
McMahon has been interested in the nexus of journalism and trauma since working as staff counsellor at The Age newspaper in Melbourne, Australia in the mid ‘80s and 90s. This interest resulted in postgraduate research in the area in 1993 with subsequent publications.
To date, she is the only Australian psychologist to be published in the area of journalism and trauma. She has a significant history of clinical private practice, organisational development consulting and employee assistance programs. Cait continues to pursue further research at Swinburne University in Melbourne into journalism and trauma, focussing on both post-traumatic growth and post-traumatic stress experienced by news media professionals.
The lecture will be held at 4 pm on Monday 30 August in the Economics Lecture Theatre (H4 in this map) in the Donald Whitehead Building. All students and staff are most welcome.
