by Jane Whyatt and Jessica Jacques
Cover of the report by INSI and the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. Photo: Jane Whyatt
As a reporter, what should you do when a drowning refugee child reaches out to you? Put down the camera and rescue him? Or carry on filming, so that the pictures might provoke a political solution? Daily dilemmas such as this take a toll on journalists’ emotions. They can lead to feelings of guilt and helplessness, and an inability to carry on with normal life. The reporter’s moral compass is knocked out of kilter, so that he or…