Fergal Keane is a BBC reporter for Africa. He made a public announcement explaining how he is leaving his role as a journalist to deal with his PTSD. He has been dealing with it for many years while still reporting news in different conflict zones. So you can imagine the struggle he has been having for many years to stay find peace while doing his work as a journalist. Keane has been involved in journalism for a very long time, starting in 1989. He began in South Africa reporting news during the time when the country was transitioning from apartheid to democracy. He also reported in Rwanda during their time of genocide. Therefore, we can see how reporting from war-torn parts of the world can be detrimental to the emotional health of a journalist. I believe Keane loved his job and this is why he had been able to work and still deal with his PTSD for such a long time. He really has been very brave to continue working from the very first time he experienced PTSD. However, I am sure he is very relieved to open up about his PTSD and step down as a journalist in order to take care of his health.
This means that being a journalist comes with many difficulties that most people do not think about. Journalist sacrifice their time and effort just to inform people about important news. Since journalists are the eyes of the public, they do so much just to make sure society is well informed and people are not being misinformed by the government. The job of a journalist is very critical and important. Many times we think of journalists to be critical of the government and country when in actuality they are helping the society to function well. Without journalists, we would not have the necessary information we need to make change in our society or advocate for people who are suffering. We rely on journalists for accurate and detailed news and once we receive the news we use it to make change, expose corruption, and help people. Therefore, whenever we get the chance we need to show our appreciation and love to every journalist we meet because their job is certainly not easy. Although, journalists may not always say the right things but they are in a very risky job area. We as citizens need to encourage them and praise them for the good work they are doing for humanity.
As much as we are critical about journalists and the news they present, how often do we think or even care for their personal health? I think sometimes when we get so use to the position that a person holds that we forget that they are humans just as we are. The person's job title becomes their identity and then we ignore the human aspect of who they are. I can't imagine the pain Keane goes through whenever he thinks about the difficult areas he has gone to do news reports. Then on top of that being criticized by people for the news stories he makes. But in reality he is just doing his job because he is passionate about it and wants to help humanity. We truly have to consider the lives of the journalists who make risk each day for the sake of news reporting.
The amazing thing about a democratic government is the ability to have free speech. Therefore, if people are actually utilizing this opportunity we should be more open to embrace them rather than bash them. I wonder if Keane had more positive support from the general public as a journalists, if that would have help him to recover from PTSD rather than having to step down completely from journalism. Sometimes if we are not careful, the places where free speech are allowed can be diminished by critics who painfully bash journalist and threaten them as well. Keane example shows us that we should show more concern for journalist and concern their personal well being as they perform their jobs as a journalist.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/fergal-keane-ptsd-bbc-africa-editor-war-reporter-correspondent-a9300656.html
This means that being a journalist comes with many difficulties that most people do not think about. Journalist sacrifice their time and effort just to inform people about important news. Since journalists are the eyes of the public, they do so much just to make sure society is well informed and people are not being misinformed by the government. The job of a journalist is very critical and important. Many times we think of journalists to be critical of the government and country when in actuality they are helping the society to function well. Without journalists, we would not have the necessary information we need to make change in our society or advocate for people who are suffering. We rely on journalists for accurate and detailed news and once we receive the news we use it to make change, expose corruption, and help people. Therefore, whenever we get the chance we need to show our appreciation and love to every journalist we meet because their job is certainly not easy. Although, journalists may not always say the right things but they are in a very risky job area. We as citizens need to encourage them and praise them for the good work they are doing for humanity.
As much as we are critical about journalists and the news they present, how often do we think or even care for their personal health? I think sometimes when we get so use to the position that a person holds that we forget that they are humans just as we are. The person's job title becomes their identity and then we ignore the human aspect of who they are. I can't imagine the pain Keane goes through whenever he thinks about the difficult areas he has gone to do news reports. Then on top of that being criticized by people for the news stories he makes. But in reality he is just doing his job because he is passionate about it and wants to help humanity. We truly have to consider the lives of the journalists who make risk each day for the sake of news reporting.
The amazing thing about a democratic government is the ability to have free speech. Therefore, if people are actually utilizing this opportunity we should be more open to embrace them rather than bash them. I wonder if Keane had more positive support from the general public as a journalists, if that would have help him to recover from PTSD rather than having to step down completely from journalism. Sometimes if we are not careful, the places where free speech are allowed can be diminished by critics who painfully bash journalist and threaten them as well. Keane example shows us that we should show more concern for journalist and concern their personal well being as they perform their jobs as a journalist.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/fergal-keane-ptsd-bbc-africa-editor-war-reporter-correspondent-a9300656.html
Comments
Post a Comment