The Trauma Beat: A Case for Re-Thinking the Business of Bad News by Tamara Cherry. Advance Reader Copy (eARC) from the publisher via Netgalley included. No affiliate links were used. Read my full disclosure policy here.
The Trauma Beat: A Case for Re-Thinking the Business of Bad News by Tamara Cherry is a compelling examination of the trauma caused by media coverage of crimes to victims, their families, and the journalists involved. Cherry is a former crime reporter, so The Trauma Beat blends her experiences with research she has carried out since leaving journalism.
Given that Cherry is Canadian, the book is North America focused, but it’s also relevant on this side of the Atlantic. Throughout, Cherry shares her experiences on the job and is frank about the occasions she went too far to get the story.
The Trauma Beat isn’t explicitly about true crime media and content, but it feels part of the broader conversation around exactly whose trauma is deemed newsworthy and why. In talking to survivors, victims of crime, and their families, Cherry shows that for many people dealing with the media meant re-traumatising themselves.
While making a case for trauma-informed reporting, Cherry applies this to everyone involved. Yes, we should be asking what it is like to have a camera or microphone shoved in your face minutes after surviving a mass shooting. As our understanding of trauma grows, we should also ask about the lasting impact on the journalist holding the microphone.
I was reading this the week of the Creeslough explosion last year, and it changed how I viewed the news coverage of the unfolding tragedy. It has changed how I read, watch, and listen to all news. I doubt I’ll be the only reader affected by it in this way.
The Trauma Beat: A Case for Re-Thinking the Business of Bad News by Tamara Cherry is published on May 9th by ECW Press and is available in paperback and ebook format.
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