Professional role negotiation after traumatic events: Bahamian journalists\u2019 constructions of duties to others and themselves after Hurricane Dorian<\/a>,\u201d was published in the peer-reviewed academic journal Journalism: Theory, Practice, and Criticism.<\/p>\n![\"Hurricane](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/hurricane-dorian-embed-940x529.webp\")
The article examines how 11 Bahamian journalists in the hardest-hit areas balanced their responsibility to report the news with the realities of trauma, danger, and human suffering. It finds that many adapted their practices in the moment\u2014sometimes prioritizing saving lives\u2014and became more reflective about how to report on people experiencing trauma.<\/p>\n
\u201cStudies like this help identify how journalists are adapting to protect themselves and use trauma-sensitive reporting practices as they fulfill a public service mission during potential disasters such as powerful hurricanes,\u201d Hughes said. \u201cThey also show that journalists\u2014like other responders\u2014need preparation but often do not receive it.\u201d<\/p>\n
A major finding is that journalism during disasters extends beyond traditional reporting. Witnessing widespread devastation prompted several participants to change how they worked during the storm and to rethink how they approach stories involving human suffering afterward.<\/p>\n
A reporter on Grand Bahama described how she shifted from routine reporting to coordinating help for her community in real time through social media. Using Facebook Live, she collected messages from stranded residents and relayed them to national defense units conducting rescues.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe ended up becoming a help center,\u201d she said. \u201cAt that point, we were all in survival mode. More than journalists, we just wanted to save lives. That was our home.\u201d<\/p>\n
A television reporter on Great Abaco island reflected later:<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m more sensitive to the facts of the situation \u2026 these are real people, not objects of a story. Now I understand they are human beings going through real situations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another journalist on Great Abaco said she now considers the dignity of those involved when deciding what to report. Without formal training in trauma-informed reporting, she said she nevertheless chose to reject suffering as a news value. She stated:<\/p>\n
\u201cI realized that sometimes you can be in a moment and not report it if it crosses ethical or moral lines \u2026 I saw things in Abaco that I decided not to report out of respect for people in their circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n
The disaster took a significant mental health toll, with some journalists experiencing lasting effects. One journalist described finally releasing the emotional strain after returning to his family home in Nassau. This journalist stated:<\/p>\n
\u201cThey knew what I was dealing with, and they just closed the door and left me for about an hour to cry. I screamed, I shouted, because I don’t even think I ate that entire time \u2026 That was my therapy.\u201d<\/p>\n
The impact was intensified because many were covering a storm that was destroying their own communities, leaving them worried about family and friends.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne young woman was asked to go live before she had any information about her mother, who was in a high-risk area,\u201d Walkine said. \u201cShe did it, but it was an extremely difficult moment for her.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the same time, the crisis led many journalists to rethink and strengthen their professional practices.<\/p>\n
Walkine and Hughes hope the study raises awareness of the limited mental health support available to journalists working in crisis situations. Participants described inadequate preparation, dangerous working conditions, and, with a few exceptions, little organizational support after the storm.<\/p>\n
The authors argue that journalism schools and media organizations should place greater emphasis on trauma awareness, self-care, and psychological support for reporters covering disasters.<\/p>\n
Walkine, who taught Environmental Reporting this spring, emphasized the need for training before journalists are sent into climate disasters. As a native of the Bahamas, he plans to use his research to develop workshops that prepare Caribbean journalists to cover complex scientific issues while also safeguarding their physical and emotional well-being during and after assignments.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to prepare journalists not just to tell these stories, but to take care of themselves while doing this work,\u201d said Walkine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Hurricane Dorian slammed into the Bahamas on Sept. 1, 2019, its Category 5 winds devastated two islands…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":302707,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[225,227,226],"class_list":["post-302706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-hialeah","tag-hialeah","tag-hialeah-headlines","tag-hialeah-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=302706"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302706\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/302707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=302706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=302706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=302706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Hurricane](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/hurricane-dorian-headshot1-940x529.webp\")
Walkine<\/a>, an instructor at the University of Miami School of Communication<\/a> and a 2026 Ph.D. graduate, partnered with Sallie Hughes<\/a>, professor and chair of the Department of Journalism and Media Management, to study how covering the hurricane influenced journalists\u2019 understanding and performance of their professional roles.<\/p>\n