The Trauma Beat: A Case for Re-Thinking the Business of Bad News

by Tamara Cherry

A groundbreaking and thorough examination of the trauma caused by the media covering crimes, both to victims and journalists, from a respected journalist and victim advocate

In The Trauma Beat, an eye-opening combination of investigative journalism and memoir, former big-city crime reporter Tamara Cherry calls on her award-winning skills as a journalist to examine the impact of the media on trauma survivors, and the impact of trauma on members of the media. As Tamara documents the experiences of those who were forced to suffer on the public stage, she is confronted by everything she got wrong on the crime beat.

Covering murders and traffic fatalities to sexual violence and mass violence, Cherry exposes a system set up to fail trauma survivors and journalists. Why do some families endure a swell of unwanted attention after the murder of a loved one, while others suffer from a lack of attention? What is it like to have a microphone shoved in your face seconds after escaping the latest mass shooting? What is the lasting impact on the reporter holding that microphone? The Trauma Beat explores these issues with the raw, reflective detail of a journalist moving from ignorance to understanding and shame to healing.

Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime, Journalism, Audiobook

436 pages, Unknown Binding

Published May 9, 2023

About the author

Tamara Cherry is a trauma researcher, survivor advocate, and award-winning journalist who spent the bulk of her career as a crime reporter in some of Canada’s largest newsrooms, including the Toronto Star, Toronto Sun, and CTV News Toronto. In late 2019, Tamara left her post at CTV to form Pickup Communications, a public relations firm that supports trauma survivors and the stakeholders who surround them. Tamara is the author of All the Bumpy Pebbles, a novel about domestic sex trafficking that was inspired by the stories shared with Tamara by survivors. Her forthcoming non-fiction debut, The Trauma Beat: A Case for Re-Thinking the Business of Bad News, focuses on her research examining the impact of the media on trauma survivors and the impact of trauma on members of the media. Part-journalism, part-memoir, The Trauma Beat draws on the experiences of more than 100 trauma survivors — from homicides to traffic fatalities, sexual violence to mass violence. Tamara is a regular voice on Newstalk 1010 radio in Toronto and across the iHeart Radio Talk Network. She lives in Regina, Saskatchewan with her partner and their three kids.

Reviews

[Stitching Ghost · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book makes a poignant case for more trauma informed reporting for the sake both sides of the reporting, the reported on (or not reported on in some cases) and the reporters, there's a little bit about the viewers' responsibility at the end but it's definitely not a book that aims to make the news watcher feel bad. That being said I think this book is a great starting point for conversations we will need to have regarding the consumption of trauma as causal entertainment, the topic is touched briefly in the book but the focus is largely on legacy medias and it does not touch the topic of hobbyist reporters such as true crime podcasters.
The author managed to treat the topic with a lot of compassion and understanding towards all sides involved and with keeping in mind that the goal is not to ascribe blame to specific people but to question the systems that can be changed not to eliminate harm, something which the author recognizes is impossible, but to reduce it as much as possible. She also shows great humility and vulnerability in talking about her own role in those systems and her own shortcomings in applying her principles of harm reduction, something which anyone who's ever tried to apply principles of harm reduction will need to confront at one point or another in their journey.
This book brings forward questions on multiple topics outside of reporting such as how we handle the trauma of first responders and who we consider as first responders, how we prioritize the trauma of certain individuals and ignore that of others, it really does a lot of the leg work in preparing the ground for a much larger conversation on the topic of trauma.
Long story short, this book is a quick read with very emotional moments, it treats an important topic with a refreshing and down to earth, well researched approach, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who creates or consumes news content.
One last thing, I received a digital ARC of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Dr. K · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book and almost impossible to read.

This book covers how journalists approach sources when reporting on traumatic stories ( think murders, traffic accidents, mass shootings, sex trafficking, etc.). The author surveyed over a hundred people about their experiences with the media and it led to this incredible eye-opening and harrowing book.

I say it was almost impossible to read because it is unflinching. I'm not sure what magic the author used to fully convey the horror and absolute helplessness people will feel during media circuses around tragedies but I could only handle it in small doses. This book explores so many fine lines: how do we tell people's stories without making it gratuitous? How do we respect privacy while wanting to remain transparent? How do we consume media about disasters without glorifying the perpetrators (and yes, we're looking at you, true crime genre). How do journalists handle their own vicarious trauma?

The book was written during the pandemic and touches on recent North American tragedies with a big focus on Toronto and Canada, which my Canadian self appreciated very much. While unflinching, the book remains sensitive and respectful towards people affected the Toronto van attack or the Pulse club shooting, among other things. I'll be thinking about this book for a long time and pay special attention when I next see tragedy reported in the news.

Recommended for anyone who's ever taken an interest in the ethics of true crime, who has an interest in journalism, and who has wondered what privacy means in the age when everything sensational is recorded somewhere.

Thank you to NetGalley for kindly providing me with an electronic advanced reader's copy!

[Jamele (BookswithJams) · Rating 4 out of 5]

For those of us that love true crime, myself included, I know there is not much thought given to the survivors and how all of the media coverage and news impacts them, when we as consumers are just trying to learn what happened as an outsider. This book was eye opening and heartbreaking, as I did not realize what all families go through when exposed to the media as much as they are, and then everyone moves on to the next thing but they clearly and rightfully so have not. Or, the opposite could be true, why do some not get any attention when just a little exposure could help them figure out what happened to their loved one? Volume is obviously a factor, but this was such a well researched, well written book that was personal to Cherry, who lived this life for her career and still suffers the effects of her career as crime reporter to this day.

I highly encourage you to pick this one up, but warning, you may not look at your ‘obsession’ with true crime the same after reading it, I definitely have not. Thank you to ECW Press for the copy to review.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyone knows what trauma means. How we get it, and how we deal (or don’t deal with it). This is not a book that will tell you how to deal with your trauma. This is not a self help book. Instead, this is a retelling of trauma situations by a reporter that allows you to see how the trauma of given situations is imposed upon those that meet it first hand… the police, medics, reporters, etc. A rare glimpse into the lives of others affected other than the perpetrators and the victims.

I found this to be a refreshing take and look into those situations from the first responders and people on the ground.

Highly recommended for those true crime junkies and anyone that likes to see situations from alternate points of view.

Many thanks to #NetGalley, the author Tamara Cherry, and the publishers #ECWPress for affording me an ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

This was a 4/5 star read for me. Grab it up on release day, May 9, 2023 for a glimpse into The Trauma Beat.

Happy reading my friends!

[Kailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thought provoking and important book.

Tamara Cherry has researched extensively the impact of reporting on both survivors and reporters and highlights the many changes that need to be made in thr journalism industry.

As someone in the general population it really makes you think about how we consume media and the long term impacts that has.

Tamara summarizes her research nicely and offers concrete examples. All of this in a very accessible, although still difficult to digest way (we are taking about traumatic situations after all)

[Sleepy Sheepie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, important book about what trauma-informed journalism looks like. There are so many ways news coverage traumatizes, or is simply insensitive to the pain of, survivors of violence and their families while also causing PTSD for those who report on these stories. Unaddressed but implied is the effect of this media culture on the rest of us. I’m a fan of true crime but have always felt misgivings about someone else’s nightmare being the basis for my enjoyment. This book helped me think about why.

Even though I believe the target audience for this book is journalists, I found that by giving us such a close-up look at how violence affects survivors, it sensitized me to how all of us can and should be supporting them.

[Jen Kline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Compelling every step of the way - Cherry does an excellent job explaining the trauma suffered by everyone involved in creating trauma journalism while passionately advocating for meaningful change in the field. While it is obvious every chapter was carefully crafted, the chapters on reporting indigenous trauma and human trafficking are masterfully done and quite moving. Clearly journalists and survivors/victims who have been contacted by the media are the main topic of Cherry’s work, but despite what other reviews have stated, I think that everyone is the target audience for this book. After all, who among us has not derived a sick satisfaction from watching a particularly gruesome news story as we pretend to cover our eyes? This book has reframed the way I think about media coverage and true crime in a similar way “I Have Some Question For You” by Rebecca Makkai did. I would love to see Cherry extend her research on vicarious trauma to include other professions who experience similar pain points, like education and medicine, because it is clear to anyone who has experienced trauma that her research is vital.

Thank you to NetGalley, Tamara Cherry, and ECW Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

[Saloni · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a super timely read with a high profile trial going on right now, and it gave me a better understanding of the trauma that victims experience when the media covers/doesn't cover their story. The 4 stars are only because the prose bothered me sometimes, but that did not take away from the message and content of the book at all.

[Ashley R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thai book should be required for all journalists and basically anyone because we all can become trauma survivors easily (sadly) and this book helps you understand both sides and how to get through it all.

[Richard Propes · Rating 4 out of 5]

For 15 years, Tamara Cherry served as a crime reporter for the Toronto Star, Toronto Sun, and CTV News Toronto.

In May 2020, Tamara launched a research project examining the impact of the media on trauma survivors, and the impact of trauma on members of the media. This project has gathered the experiences of more than 100 trauma survivors and journalists across Canada and the United States, with the goal of producing trauma-informed educational materials for journalists, victim service providers, and justice-sector partners.

"The Trauma Beat: A Case for Re-Thinking the Business of Bad News" largely comes out of this research project, Tamara's own background as a crime reporter, and her subsequent work in founding Pickup Communications and working to find new and better ways to report the business of bad news.

"The Trauma Beat" is, somewhat miraculously, not a particularly traumatizing book itself despite the fact that the book is, essentially, a presenting of case after case of those who participated in the research project and, at times, also those cases that Tamara Cherry reported on over her years as a crime reporter.

This doesn't mean, of course, that those who've experienced trauma won't reflect upon their own trauma while reading "The Trauma Beat." In fact, I practically guarantee you will. However, it's clear in the use of language and structure here that there's a very strong effort to not create trauma while discussing trauma.

For the past 30 years, I have been an outspoken activist in the area of violence prevention, especially domestic violence and child abuse, and have dealt with the media throughout those years with both helpful and harmful experiences.

One experience kept coming back to me time and again while I was reading "The Trauma Beat," an experience that I had toward the end of my 30 years of sharing my own trauma experiences and learning how to steer media appearances and interviews toward a healthier discussion of issues around trauma.

Most of my own activism has come in the form of an annual special event. As a paraplegic/double amputee, I have traveled over 6,000 miles by wheelchair raising awareness and funds for organizations supporting survivors of violence while sharing my own experiences. It was toward the end of my 30 years, a benchmark at which I officially "retired" from the road though I have offered at least one event since then, that I encountered the opportunity to do an extended interview with a college publication. Initial discussions were positive and I felt comfortable that this would be a meaningful discussion. I wheeled into the college town and fulfilled a couple of speaking obligations. All was well.

The interview with this publication ended up being one of the most traumatic experiences in my 30 years of activism to the point that at one point I even stopped the interview to express my concerns about the direction the reporter was going into what was clearly "selling the drama" questions and areas I had made it clear I would not discuss. It became clear he wanted to mark his senior year with an award-winning piece. However, in so taking this approach I largely shut down because, of course, anyone who has ever experienced significant trauma will tell you that it never completely goes away.

After the interview was complete, I expressed my concerns about the interview and this reporter seemed completely clueless. After a few more minutes of discussion, it became clear to me that the intent was not to "sell drama" but that he simply was ill-equipped to handle such a challenging interview. The final piece, in fact, was surprisingly timid despite the fact that I ended the interview significantly traumatized by it.

With "The Trauma Beat," Tamara Cherry explores these types of situations and the ways in which the business of bad news can, in fact, perpetuate that bad news by traumatizing survivors of violence, those reporting the violence, and even our first responders.

"The Trauma Beat" is largely built around those individuals who responded to the research project and how their dealings with the media after their particular traumas impacted them.

The real power of "The Trauma Beat" lies in the fact that Cherry doesn't let herself off the hook. This isn't a case of "I got everything right and here's how you can too!" Instead, "The Trauma Beat" is also sort of a journalistic memoir as Cherry is confronted by everything she got wrong during her time on the crime beat - the words she said, the actions taken, the postures - just about every little moment is reflected upon here as she reflects upon those things she could have done differently and those ways in which she became part of the problem.

To be honest, it was refreshing to have a journalist essentially say "I meant well, but I didn't always do well."

With "The Trauma Beat," Cherry exposes a system that is practically set up to fail both survivors of trauma and the journalists covering trauma. She looks at why some families experience a storm of attention, often unwanted, while others sit on the sideline wondering if their loved ones actually matter to anyone.

"The Trauma Beat" covers everything from murders to traffic fatalities to sexual violence to mass violence. The majority of the cases seem to from Cherry's native Canada, though there are cases from all across North America.

"The Trauma Beat" is a book that contains all the journalistic details you would expect, though for the most part it avoids "selling the drama" and instead focuses on the research and on the interviews that would often follow in which one can practically feel Tamara Cherry moving from ignorance to understanding through her shame for the areas and times in which she fell short of her desired standards and into a sort of healing in which she realizes she can and will do better and she will support others in doing the very same.

There were times I undoubtedly reflected upon my own experiences with trauma and my own experiences, good and bad, with the media in discussing the trauma. However, "The Trauma Beat" also reinforces that there are many journalists, human beings, trying to bring some humanity to situations that often feel inhumane. There are humans within the systems that often set everyone up to fail.

How do we change those systems?

"The Trauma Beat" presents, indeed, a case for re-thinking the business of bad news. However, at times, I do wish it spent a little more time reflecting on how we actually do that re-thinking. How do we change things? While each case has these reflections, at times brilliantly so, how can we create better systems that don't set up survivors or journalists to fail or to perpetuate the trauma?

As an activist who has spent a good majority of my adult life discussing trauma, there's much I loved about "The Trauma Beat" and it's a book I wish I'd have been able to read early in my activism days as I think it would have been such a valuable guide for me in dealing with media and also for me as an activist trying to create safe spaces for people to acknowledge their most painful life experiences. Yes, "The Trauma Beat" reminded me that even as an activist sometimes I failed in my own lofty standards.

"The Trauma Beat" is a well-informed, emotionally honest, and heartfelt book that is also grounded deeply within research, data, and Tamara Cherry's own life experiences. The end result is a thoughtful, groundbreaking, and necessary book for anyone working within the field of trauma whether that be direct service, advocacy, media, emergency response, or in a myriad of other ways.

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short version (no spoilers):

Read it! You’ll love it. You’ll be drawn in by the stories and you will get something out of it without feeling you were schooled. It’s a well-documented book told from a personal point of view. Tamara Cherry’s choice of telling the story in first person makes the book very accessible. We share in her experiences as a journalist who reports on traumatic events which have claimed lives, left shocked survivors and has had an indelible impact on first responders, communities and even journalists. She ultimately proposes some solutions on responsible journalism and how we as individuals can be selective in what we choose to expose ourselves in the news.

Long version (some spoilers):

Reading this book was an incredible learning experience. I was originally attracted to it when I heard Tamara Cherry in an interview on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The key word that caught my ear and drew me into the interview was “trauma”. (It may even have been collective trauma). This topic of trauma is also key to a photographic series I’m working on so I’m always drawn to any literature that explores its effects.

Through very personal stories, you are drawn into what Tamara has to say. You don’t realize that you are learning about yourself through the introspection of your past behaviours. There is always the “what if” that we dread to think about. What if my child were killed or involved in a shooting. What if my parent were to die in a terrible car accident? However, each chapter has a theme and explores some aspect of media coverage. My most introspective moments were in reading about how survivors have to field a flurry of reporters at their door. Worse yet though, is being a survivor and nobody is covering your loss and your grieving. Your trauma falls into an abyss and is at most a one line mention on some back page.

Tamara also lays herself bare and gives a personal account of how constant coverage of trauma has affected her. There were two most touching accounts that Tamara shared that affected me deeply. The first happens when she went to a site of a horrible bus crash that left many children dead, years after the fact, and stares off into the peaceful distance of the prairies, close to where faded memorials lay weathered in the elements, and simply says this is not right (sic). Due to my photographic work (the series), I have done this very same thing. I’m always struck by how “normal” things look after a horrible event. The second happens when she discovers her depression is a result of an uncontrollable rage that has grown over the years from her constant exposure to traumatic events and the emotional fallout.

Think about all the first responders, the doctors and nurses, the reporters and the witness to a trauma. She does cover the subject of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder thoroughly and how, almost by proxy, anybody involved with the trauma, although not personally, can be overwhelmed by the PTSD symptoms and even overwhelming guilt.

The best part comes near the end, where I really learned about how we watch the news. Some of us are “bad news” junkies. Some of us can’t get enough of the graphic imagery and others are immune to it. Reading about it or seeing it on television, in papers or on the internet, repeatedly has left us completely desensitized and yet for the survivors, this continual reportage is akin to reliving their personal trauma repeatedly.

Why do we need this graphic imagery? We don’t. Why do reports feel they have to get it for us? There are various reasons but, in general, the news industry works this way. Each news outlet wants to be the first to cover the story and have the most details. It’s what drives the business and provides the income of those involved in the machinery. I’m not casting blame. I’m simply saying this - if we, as news consumers, can shift our viewing habits, then the whole business of reporting the news will respond correspondingly. Inversely, with responsible journalism, we can educate the public on how to examine what they see and read and if it is necessary.

The book has left me speechless for a few weeks after I finished it as these ideas were all percolating in my head.

Simply put - just read it!

[Paul Sutter]

Almost every day when we turn on our television, radio, or even view pages on the Internet, there are stories death and human suffering. It’s unlikely a day will ever pass that changes. When it comes to death and murder, often the press acts like a pack of hungry wolves, wanting to be the first person on the case, along with talking to people associated with the unfortunate victims. Tamara Cherry was a former crime reporter, who without question, covered more than her share of human tragedies. Death became a subject that she faced, along with figuring how to report on the stories. For fifteen years in fact, she was part of the story, doing her utmost to get views of the reactions of people who were associated with tragedies and deaths.
Reporters often walk that fine line, though often on television we often view them sticking microphones in front of people, who possibly were just told a loved one had died. That moral compass was pointing in the wrong direction often, as human suffering seemed secondary to getting the “scoop” on the tragedy.
Tamara Cherry in her compelling book, THE TRAUMA BEAT, spoke with seventy-one people who had been part of a violent crime or death, those left behind while loved ones experienced death or near death. It makes for a fascinating look behind the scenes, as we see not only the comments of the victims, but how Cherry faced the moral dilemma of getting a story while also trying to take the victim’s feelings and emotions into consideration.
The job even took its own toll on Cherry, whose crime beat did cause her to have her own issues. She admits in the book, that she couldn’t at times look at her own children without conjuring up images of them dead. She needed to touch their flesh and put her head to their chests to feel their heart beating, to make sure they were indeed still alive.
Cherry writes about experiences with the victims during their most vulnerable moments. She wanted to be understanding and reassuring, without coming across as unable to understand their grief. Ethics must guide a reporter, and Cherry believes she treated those she interviewed with dignity. Dozens of cases are mentioned, with the author discussing dialogue she had with friends and family of the victims, bringing a most human side to her profession and those she spoke with.
It makes for a most informative book, one that will appeal to crime buffs, and those who want to understand the reporting business, especially dealing with real life pain and suffering.

[J Earl · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Trauma Beat by Tamara Cherry is an eye-opening and, in some ways, uncomfortable read. I have probably done as much personal reflection based on this book as I have any other book.

We all know the jokes and comments that center on the obnoxious questions that are often asked by journalists. From sports journalists in the immediate aftermath of a big loss to the crime reporter after a crime or trial. In this book we come to understand the extent to which our thirst for news, even when there is nothing new, has helped to create an environment where survivors of crime (often the family members of people murdered or otherwise killed) are further traumatized by news journalists.

The cases presented are all shown from the perspective of these survivors, and it is uncomfortable to know that our "need" for nonstop coverage contributes to the pain these people experience. The journalists are driven both by their desire to report the news and the demands of their bosses. Those demands are, ultimately, tied to the popularity of trauma news. The clicks, viewership, readership and so forth that create an insatiable need, which these organizations try to feed by traumatizing the survivors even more.

Most of us have a fascination with true crime to some degree, and I'm not sure that is something that can or will change. Even those of us who try not to hold up traffic when passing an accident still take a look. Much of what is reported does serve a purpose, it lets us know what is happening in our world. We don't, however, need to know every thought that a survivor has, and that survivor is under no obligation to feed our morbid curiosity. Journalists, even the most ethical, are caught in the middle. It is how to make this middle less traumatic for the survivors while also reporting the news where Cherry is doing her work.

I would recommend this book to anyone, which is just about everyone, who has a fascination with true crime. While pragmatic ways to improve the situation falls largely on the shoulders of journalists and those in the criminal justice system, those of us creating the demand can be more ethical as well. I found myself thinking about what exactly appeals to me in true crime stories, which I think will stop me from just picking up everything with the phrase "true crime" and concentrate on the ones that actually offer some insight and not just sensationalism.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

[Angelique · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a licensed professional counselor who knows all too well the importance of being trauma-informed, I was drawn to Tamara Cherry's "The Trauma Beat" because I was curious about how a journalist would tackle the subject. Cherry does an excellent job of advocating for change in the ways journalists tell stories that involve trauma, but she does so in a way that feels like she is inviting you, the reader, along for the journey, rather than just lecturing you to change. Interspersed throughout the book are vignettes from survivors about what their experience was like in dealing with the media, which provides a humanizing element- how better to illustrate the ways in which things need to change than by sharing examples of how someone got it wrong? Research on trauma also helps to provide legitimacy to what Cherry is saying, as her pleas for others to do better are then more than just her own opinion on the matter.

What I found particularly compelling, however, was the way in which the author shared her own experience, and discussed not only her distress at times that she got it wrong, but how she now uses what she knows to try and get it right. That vulnerability and honesty may not be easy to share, but it will likely help readers really listen to the message being spread throughout the book, and may spur real change. It was also illuminating to read input from other reporters about how their desire to become more trauma-informed has impacted the ways in which they now tell stories, as they see how past mistakes may have further traumatized their interview subjects.

It may seem like a gargantuan task to try and change a system of journalism that is somewhat resistant to that change, but books like this, and professionals in the field who are willing to stand up and demand that we all do better, make that task seem more achievable. After all, if we want to truly change the system, it isn't just the journalists who need to change- the general public, those who consume media, need to be more thoughtful about the media we consume.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been hearing a lot lately about unplugging from the news - about giving yourself a break from the constant barrage of depressing headlines. Even as a journalism major, it hadn't occurred to me that a lot of the trauma connected to reporting these events lands squarely on the journalist. Cherry's insightful book digs into both how traumatic events can impact the journalist who's reporting on it, as well as how it negatively impacts the families, friends, and survivors of those events.

This book made me really think through what is actually appropriate and responsible journalism - it should be included in journalism courses (nothing of this nature was when I was in school for sure!). It really asks the question: how far is too far? Do we really need to hound traumatized people for interviews? Do we need to show murder weapons or crash sites in order to effectively report a story? There is a lot more sensationalism that happens without regard to the impact that these images or videos can have. Additionally, there needs to be a lot more trauma training that goes into being a journalist (both in how to deal with traumatized people and how to recognize the journalist's own symptoms of secondary trauma that can come along with seeing horrible acts of violence or death on a regular basis).

There are a lot of really impactful and interesting stories that Cherry uses to drive her points home. There were some sections that felt a bit repetitive and I would have loved at least one chapter on how viewing these images merely as outsiders (and not intimately connected to the stories) could negatively impact us. This could help make even more of a case for why news reporting needs to be even more trauma-informed. But overall, I'd recommend this book to anyone who's interested in media or journalism.

*Free ARC provided by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

In The Trauma Beat, award-winning journalist and trauma researcher, Tamara Cherry examines the impact of the media on trauma survivors, and the impact of trauma on members of the media.

As a true crime fan, this book was an eye opener for me. I’ve listened to the podcasts, watched the documentaries and tv shows, read the books, listened to the podcasts and (ignorantly) never really given a thought to the impact on the people in those stories, and how they feel about them.

I will be mindful of this in future. Cherry explores the impact of the media on trauma survivors with such care, empathy and open-mindedness. She is willing to own the mistakes that she has made during her journalism career and goes to great lengths to communicate ways in which trauma survivors can be better supported in both the immediate aftermath and years down the line. All the time informed by their feedback, experiences and feelings.

While not an easy read, The Trauma Beat is a must-read for journalists, media professionals, and anyone who consumes news (which is all of us, really). It’s vital that we understand the implications of telling the stories of others and how it has the potential to not just retraumatise them, but create further long lasting trauma and harm. Tamara Cherry deftly navigates this difficult topic, providing thought-provoking insights and perspectives, while asking the hard questions we should all ponder as storytellers or consumers.

Thank you to the author, ECW Press, and Netgalley for providing me with a digital advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. I will be recommending this book to anyone who will listen and it will inform the way I consume trauma-related media moving forwards.

[Purabi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not know what to expect from this book but wanted to read it because I am familiar with Tamara Cherry as a regular guest on Newstalk 1010 during their roundtable discussion segment. She is the founder of Pickup Communications, a public relations firm that support trauma survivors and the stakeholders who surround them. Thank you, ECW Press, for the ARC.

As I started reading, I began to get a sense of what Cherry is trying to impart to her readers through her own experience as journalist, trauma researcher, and media commentator. Thanks to Cherry’s in-depth research and detailed writing told with compassion, I now have a better understanding of the trauma caused by the media covering crimes, both to victims and journalists. This eye-opening, sometimes poignant, but at all times honest book, it welcomes the reader to journey alongside the author as observer learning about a world most of us who are not in media, are quite unaware of. By writing this book, Cherry has dug deep into the world of investigative journalism – collecting, verifying, assessing information - thereby allowing us to look beyond the headlines. Trauma is felt by both victim, media, first responders, and the author looks, and reports on the various aspects with compassion and honesty.

Cherry’s refreshing views and thorough research on a subject that, tragically, makes up the main part of everyday news, is an eye-opener.

[Lisa Brandt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an important book but in addition to being important, it's also a great read. (You don't always get both in one book.)

Adding to and exploiting someone's trauma are things I've thought about often during, and after, my career as a radio newscaster. Where do you draw the line with details? How do you tell the story without going too far? We used to make fun of TV reporters who shoved microphones in the faces of grieving parents asking, "How do you feel?" More than once, I edited out the cries of an anguished mother in a report on a murder. It was too tabloid, too invasive, and, frankly, repetitive. Forgive the gallows humor our profession is known for - but a colleague of mine once said, "The day the mother of a murder victim says, 'I'm glad he's dead', is the day I'll play a reaction from a mother."

But for many on the front lines, the push to be first, to get more, to get as close as possible to "the story" is real. "If you won't do it, I'll get someone who will" is something just about every journalist working in news has heard or overheard. Tamara Cherry was on the crime beat for 15 years and her meticulously researched, thoughtful, and intelligent book looks at why and how "bad news" should be covered in a different way. If newsrooms do the very least because of this book - getting trauma education and counselling for reporters - she will have made a huge difference. It should be required reading for every veteran and aspiring journalist.

[Georgina Reads_Eats_Explores · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Trauma Beat is a compelling but hard-hitting read from former crime reporter Tamara Cherry. She examines the trauma caused by media coverage of crimes to victims, their families, and the journalists involved by seamlessly blending her experiences with research she has carried out since leaving the field of journalism.

While the book focuses on American cases, it’s also relevant to other countries. I'm sure we can all think of times journalists went too far to get the story or over-sensationalised something for the increased coverage, can't we?

The Trauma Beat isn’t explicitly true crime-centred either; it's a much more expansive look at what and whose trauma is deemed newsworthy and why that is.

Through her experience of talking to survivors, victims of crime, and their families, Cherry shows that for many people, dealing with the media meant re-traumatising themselves. And subsequently, this was traumatising for the front-line journalists.

But this doesn't mean that the news shouldn't be made available. It's still crucial that reportage happens, but trauma-informed reporting should be the norm, not the exception.

After all, the subjects of news stories are real people. They are only human and might be living their worst day as their name – or the name of a loved one – made the news.

This book should be essential reading for journalism students and, really, anyone who’s currently working as a journalist. 4⭐

Thank you to NetGalley and ECW Press for the opportunity to read this book in return for an, as always, honest review.

[Joanne Hattersley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you for the advance eARC in exchange for an honest review.

As a widow, as a woman whose lost her mum and as someone who has seen a 30 year elderly care nursing career, I have seen more than my fair share of death. Those things were the reason I picked this book. Trauma invades everyone’s life at some stage. We all see the loss of someone we love. What this book has done, is opened up all angles. How the police sat in the car before they went to the house struggling to find the words. Yes, it meant the widow heard about it on TV but we have to consider the police too. How do you find those words. I’ve had to say those words. Many, many times. Even to my own dad when I confirmed that mum had passed away.
This book looks at how everyone feels. The media on the lawn outside that have a job to do - they’re not focused on the trauma, they want the story. The police delivering the news - they may have worked with the deceased and now have to tell his wife/husband the news - the police are focused on their job and an intense grief for a colleague and friend. The survivor of the incident that wants things done/dealt with and may be angry or frustrated at the speed of an investigation or the result of one - grief is driving that anger.

Our author has handed this all to us in the pages. It’s without judgement to anyone and with compassion. Thank you Tamara Cherry.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

|| THE TRAUMA BEAT ||
A case for re-thinking the business of bad news
#gifted/@ecwpress
✍🏻
"I truly believe that most journalists who tell stories of trauma are trying to do good. The combined results of this project have been a reckoning for me personally and will, I hope, be a reckoning for the industry. Not just the reporters who are waiting on the sidewalk for their kick at the trauma can. I'm talking about the whole shebang. The execs. The investigators. The survivor support workers. The rubberneckers. You. The system is not broken it's just built this way. The time has come to tear it down."
•
A smartly written exploration of how journalistic reporting on traumatic news effects survivors and victims.

This book caught my attention right away. I found it innovative, fascinating, groundbreaking, and hopeful as Cherry, a former crime reporter combines investigative journalism with memoir. Exposing how the system is already set to fail both sides of the coin, very interesting. All in all this was a very intriguing read on journalism, and traumatic reporting. Lots to take away from this, very Illuminating.

For more of my book content check out instagram.com/bookalong

[L Bianco · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Trauma Beat
A Case for Re-thinking the Business of Bad News
by Tamara Cherry

This author certainly knows what she’s talking about, having been a crime reporter for many years, interviewing survivors and witnesses of trauma. Being involved in everything from motor vehicle accidents to murders and shootings had a cumulative effect on her personally, and eventually led her to researching how to lessen the impact of the journalists’ interactions with the people being interviewed, and also on the journalists themselves.

It is hardly surprising that the impact of reporting trauma events, and interviewing the survivors and witnesses immediately after the events is very often a negative experience for all concerned. Tamara Cherry surveyed many trauma survivors in Canada and the USA to try to determine exactly how their experience with reporters and journalist affected them, and how they felt these interviews could have been handled better.

A thoughtful book, and while the subject matter isn’t always easy, it is very readable.

[Robert Bogue]

I didn’t know Tamara Cherry when she took the stage and presented based on her book, The Trauma Beat: A Case for Re-Thinking the Business of Bad News. She has an impressive pedigree in journalism in Canada, and her years of trauma journalism eventually led to a change in her life. The cumulative trauma of reporting day-after-day took a toll on her, and she realized how sorely needed training and coaching around trauma is. Journalists are taught the tools of the trade – but rarely are they given even a token introduction to either of her two main thrusts. First, in the push for the story, journalists sometimes inflict more harm on the victims of trauma – and that has to stop. Second, journalists aren’t taught the techniques that can help them better process the trauma they experience – so that it doesn’t build up and take a cumulative toll.

Read more

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Trauma Beat was well-written with compassion and understanding, advocating for harm reduction and informed reporting. The author doesn’t blame any specific people, but instead questions the system as a whole and how to reduce the harm it causes. There is a big difference between insight vs sensationalism in the true crime genre especially, and I think this book will make me more aware of what I am reading about. There is a way to tell stories correctly with respect to survivors and there is a limit as to what should be considered “too far” that journalists and authors don’t always respect.

I have never read a book like this, which I think further proves that there is a lack of conversation happening around this topic. This is a great foundation for a larger conversation on how we handle trauma, how we treat survivors, and what goes into reporting someone’s story. Reading the interviews with survivors on how the media treated them was extremely eye-opening and thought-provoking. I liked that the author showed vulnerability in addressing how she also got things wrong during her time on the crime beat, and what she would have done differently now that she is more informed. The Trauma Beat asks how we tell stories while also respecting privacy and not glorifying the perpetrators, in addition to how we support journalists handling their own trauma.
Thank you ECW Press for my gifted copy!

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most well-researched and thought-provoking books I have ever read. I had a hard time putting it down. It is not an easy read, but so absolutely necessary. I say this as a reporter myself - it should be required reading for everyone even peripherally connected to the media, law enforcement, victim services, and readers of true crime. But beyond that, it provides such valuable insights and asks such important questions of regular consumers of news.
We in the media have done things a certain way for so long, and this book forces us all to confront the consequences of that reporting, how real people’s lives are affected. I can’t stop thinking about the stories of the family members whose worst days were our biggest headlines.
In someone else’s hands this book could have easily turned into a lecture, but instead you can feel the compassion and introspection on every page. The author takes you on a learning journey with her, and it’s one I highly recommend we all take.

[Louise Foerster · Rating 5 out of 5]

With THE TRAUMA BEAT, Tamara Cherry tells the stories behind the tragedies and realities of the modern day media approach to shocking events. Covering the survivors of trauma, the ones directly supporting them, their families, and the media itself, Cherry pulls back the curtain of the impact of having one's worst moments recorded for the benefit of reporters, the media, and the curious public. Whether your story makes the news or not, you are invaded and confronted by the bottomless appetites of ambitions, consumption, and the next big thing. My heart ached and my admiration for Cherry's courage and beautiful storytelling of a difficult and necessary examination of what tragic stories are told and how. I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

[Pavel Breitman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tamara Cherry introduces the topic of trauma informed journalism as the future for trauma reporting, and argues the case for being trauma informed helps not only the survivors, but the first responders, victim services, and also the journalists who report on these cases.

The urge to incorporate helpful services and practices to newsrooms is a strong constant in this book.

Although often times very critical of herself and her past mistakes throughout the book, Cherry delivers the message with great consideration towards survivors.

[Johan Agstam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an amazing, but incredibly hard book to read. It does what it says on the tin, it delves into how media reporting around trauma affects people - victims, professionals like victim support workers, and even journalists themselves - and importantly asks (and answers) questions on how a more trauma-informed journalism can look. It was a great book, but I also need to stress this - this is a book about trauma and it does not shy away from the emotions of that. This was a tough book to read and I needed to take a break from depressing topics after this one, so go in knowing that.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a powerful book. I am not involved in the media professional but I can totally understand how trauma is part of the profession.
Training is advocated for at all levels, this is reinforced by examples of various professionals.
Pushed by editors to get the sound bite, quote, or interview the trauma is compounded to the survivors and professionals.
We accept trauma in the first responders as part of their professions but media are also running towards not away from horrendous scenes

[Louise Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a fascinating perspective on trauma, vicarious trauma and how information is gathered and shared. In a society where “trauma porn” and “doom scrolling” are influencing the way in which news is reported, this book could not be more timely. The author provides a respectful analysis of how trauma reporting impacts on those directly affected by the events and this makes for a thought provoking read.