Qualitative analysis of the impact of a mass shooting on a broadcast journalist

"December 2013.""A Thesis presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School at the University of Missouri In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts."Thesis supervisor: Professor Martha Steffens.This research examines the impact of the Aurora, Colo., movie theater shooting on first-responding journalists, focusing on their professional lives and reporting techniques. The research was completed using a qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews and discussions with six broadcast journalists, from the local NBC and ABC affiliates in Denver, who were on the scene of the shooting. Each interview was coded using the constant comparative method to find a better understanding of trauma reporting. By examining this shooting and its effects on journalists, this research attempts to define the emotional toll that can be associated with journalists during crisis situations. By examining this topic through an array of interviews and other research, the findings ultimately lead to a better understanding of how journalists define the impact of reporting on trauma in hopes to bring more attention to journalists as first-responders to crises throughout the world.Includes bibliographical references (pages 90-93)