In all, 74 student journalists completed our survey on trauma reporting, with a large majority coming from Stony Brook University. Students from SUNY Cortland and Columbia College also contributed their perspectives. The overwhelming majority of respondents were part of a campus publication (91%), and 53% were interns at a local, regional or national media outlet. A large majority (72%) had participated in reporting in journalism class.

Just over a third of respondents (35%, n=26) were engaged in all three of the above activities. Of this hyper-engaged subgroup, over two-thirds (n=18) said they had experienced stress as student journalists. Four of them had faced hostility. Only five were trained in trauma-informed reporting techniques, although 11 felt prepared to encounter stressful situations. Four have had therapy, eight have reached out in the past to a supervisor and 20 would feel comfortable asking for help in the future.

Only nine respondents gained their experience fully from their campus publication. Of these, four felt stress within their role. One had faced hostility and none of them felt prepared to handle traumatic situations or had learned how to report on trauma. While only a minority had reached out to their editor, two-thirds would feel comfortable in doing so. None of these respondents were journalism majors (although some were studying for a communications degree).

Fewer male students (n=22) than female students (n=44) answered our survey. Twenty worked at a campus publication and most had taken a journalism class. Fourteen had never had to report on a discriminatory event. If they had reported on a traumatic event, it was most likely to be riots and protests (47.8%). Women were less likely than men to report on riots and protests and were the only students (17.5%) in our survey to have reported on rape and sexual assault. Three respondents identified as non-binary. All were non-white and reported experiencing stress on the job.

The majority of respondents were white (n=43), but over 70% of non-white student journalists had reported on one or more traumatic events compared to 58% of white respondents. A majority (56%) of non-white journalists had covered discriminatory events, while only 40% of white journalists could say the same. Non-white respondents were 40% more likely to feel stressed while reporting compared to white student journalists.