“Dying in harness:” How news workers’ obituaries in the 20th century served as meta-journalistic discourse about trauma and coping

Abstract

By looking through the lens of media history at how journalists in an earlier era reflected on trauma in their own newsrooms, this study seeks to add more holistic perspectives on how trauma has been and is discussed by news workers, as well as given meaning and contemplated. This study interrogates the role organizational culture has played in shaping reflections and depictions on trauma, and how a better understanding of this internal work culture can help explain the ongoing evolution of trauma processing in journalism.

Keywords

trauma newsrooms media history work culture journalism meta-journalistic discourse

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Anderson

De Maeyer

(2014) Objects of journalism and the news. Journalism 16(1): 3–9. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884914545728

Barnhurst

Nerone

(2009) Journalism history The Handbook of Journalism Studies. Routledge, pp. 37–48.

Beam

Spratt

(2009) Managing vulnerability: job satisfaction, morale and journalists' reactions to violence and trauma. Journalism Practice 3(4): 421–438.

Butler

(1950). Charles G. Ross Dies, with 'Big' Story Untold. Editor & Publisher.

Carlson

(2016) Metajournalistic discourse and the meanings of journalism: definitional control, boundary work, and legitimation. Communication Theory 26(4): 349–368. https://doi.org/10.1111/comt.12088

Colson

De Maeyer

Le Cam

(2013) Du pigeon voyageur à Twitter: histoires matérielles du journalisme. Difusion. https://hdl.handle.net/2013/ULB-DIPOT:oai:dipot.ulb.ac.be:2013/143447

Creech

(2016) A newsmaker’s tool: the 35mm camera and journalism’s material epistemology. Journalism 18(9): 1125–1141. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884916657507

De Maeyer

Holton

(2016) Why linking matters: a metajournalistic discourse analysis. Journalism 17(6): 776–794. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884915579330

De Maeyer

Le Cam

(2018) The material traces of journalism: a socio-historical approach to online journalism. Theories of Journalism in a Digital Age. Routledge, pp. 99–114.

10.

Dick

(2022) Saying the quiet part loud: applying a trauma-informed lens to media history research. Journalism History 48(3): 192–194. https://doi.org/10.1080/00947679.2022.2068321

11.

Dick

(2024) Reimagining and revolutionizing media history research: problems and possibilities. American Journalism 41(2): 254–275. https://doi.org/10.1080/08821127.2024.2338711

12.

Duncan

Newton

(2010) How do you feel? Preparing novice reporters for the death knock. Journalism Practice 4(4): 439–453. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512780903482059

13.

Dworznik

(2006) Journalism and trauma: how reporters and photographers make sense of what they see. Journalism Studies 7(4): 534–553. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616700600757977

14.

Engelhardt

(2017) Apoplexy, cerebrovascular disease, and stroke: historical evolution of terms and definitions. Dement Neuropsychol 11(4): 449–453. https://doi.org/10.1590/1980-57642016dn11-040016

15.

Fedler

(1997) Exploring the historical image of journalists as heavy drinkers from 1850 to 1950. American Journalism 14(3-4): 391–410. https://doi.org/10.1080/08821127.1997.10731932

16.

Ferrucci

(2018) Mo “meta” blues: how popular culture can act as metajournalistic discourse. International Journal on Communication 12: 18. https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/8550

17.

Haley

(1977) Journalism: Rest in Prose: The Art of the Obituary. The American Scholar, 206–211.

18.

Hardt

Brennen

(eds) (1995) Newsworkers: Toward a History of the Rank and File. University of Minnesota Press.

19.

Heynderickx

Dieltjens

(2016) An analysis of obituaries in staff magazines. Death Studies 40(1): 11–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2015.1056562

20.

Kearney

Waller

(2025) Bodying the war correspondent: deploying creative practice to explore the reporter's body as a sense-making tool. Journalism Studies: 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2025.2531788

21.

Keeble

(2025) The politics of celebrity: Marie Colvin: a case Study. Sur le journalisme 14(1). Available at: https://doi.org/10.25200/SLJ.v14.n1.2025.663

22.

Keith

(2014) Horseshoes, stylebooks, wheels, poles, and dummies: objects of editing power in 20th-century newsrooms. Journalism 16(1): 44–60. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884914545732

23.

Kitch

(2021) News media as artifacts of loss: journalism history in the 9/11 Museum. Journalism History 47(3): 223–225. https://doi.org/10.1080/00947679.2021.1908811

24.

Le Cam

(2014) Photographs of newsrooms: from the printing house to open space offices. Analyzing the transformation of workspaces and information production. Journalism 16(1): 134–152. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884914558347

25.

Lewis

(2012) The tension between professional control and open participation: journalism and its boundaries. Information, Communication & Society 15(6): 836–866. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2012.674150

26.

Liberman

(1996) Supermarket Tab Kind Steps down. Editor & Publisher, 14-15, 28.

27.

Mari

(2020) “Songs of the craft”: Newsroom work poetry in twentieth-century American journalism. Journalism History 46(4): 301–320. https://doi.org/10.1080/00947679.2020.1787781

28.

Mari

(2021a) The American Newsroom: A History, 1920-1960. University of Missouri Press.

29.

Mari W (2021b) Editor&Publisher, 1901–2015 , Internet Archive. American Journalism 38(3): 381–383. https://doi.org/10.1080/08821127.2021.1949564

30.

Massé

(ed) (2011) Trauma Journalism: On Deadline in Harm's Way. Continuum International Publishing Group.

31.

Maulidar

(2025) Commemorating trauma: the impact of anniversary journalism on journalists’ mental health and well-being. Journalism. https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849251384495

32.

Meltzer

Martik

(2017) Journalists as communities of practice: advancing a theoretical framework for understanding journalism. Journal of Communication Inquiry 41(3): 207–226. https://doi.org/10.1177/0196859917706158

33.

Moran

Shaikh

(2022) Robots in the news and newsrooms: unpacking meta-journalistic discourse on the use of artificial intelligence in journalism. Digital Journalism 10(10): 1756–1774. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2022.2085129

34.

Moran

Usher

(2021) Objects of journalism, revised: rethinking materiality in journalism studies through emotion, culture and ‘unexpected objects. Journalism 22(5): 1155–1172. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884920985730

35.

Ohrvik

(2024) What is close reading? An exploration of a methodology. Rethinking History 28(2): 238–260. https://doi.org/10.1080/13642529.2024.2345001

36.

Parks

(2021a) From sensation to stigma: changing standards for suicide coverage in US journalism textbooks, 1894–2016. Journalism 22(6): 1375–1392. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884919841920

37.

Parks

(2021b) Joy is a news value. Journalism Studies 22(6): 820–838. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670x.2020.1807395

38.

Perreault

Perreaul

Maares

(2024) Metajournalistic discourse as a stabilizer within the journalistic field: journalistic practice in the COVID-19 pandemic. In: Journalism and Reporting Synergistic Effects of Climate Change. Routledge, pp. 129–147.

39.

Perreault

Tandoc

Caberlon

(2025) Journalism after life: obituaries as metajournalistic discourse. Journalism Practice 19(4): 843–860. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2023.2202642

40.

Pew

(1927) Shop Talk at Thirty. Editor & Publisher, 16. “Thirty” was a workplace term that delineated the end of the story, or its submission.

41.

Pew

(1933) Shop Talk at Thirty. Editor & Publisher, 44.

42.

Pressman

(2018) On Press: The Liberal Values that Shaped the News. Harvard University Press.

43.

Radoli

(2024) “If it bleeds it leads”: the visual witnessing trauma phenomenon among journalists in East Africa. Journalism & Mass Communication Educator 79(3): 287–305. https://doi.org/10.1177/10776958241242941

44.

Revers

(2017) The sacred discourse of journalistic professionalism. In: Contemporary Journalism in the US and Germany: Agents of Accountability. Palgrave Macmillan US, pp. 43–78.

45.

Robbins

(1993) Shop Talk at Thirty: A Friend and Colleague of Don Bolles Remembers. Editor & Publisher. 76, 67.

46.

R.W. (1934) Our own world of letters. Editor & Publisher. 31.

47.

Ryfe

Kemmelmeier

(2011) Quoting practices, path dependency and the birth of modern journalism. Journalism Studies 12(1): 10–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670x.2010.511943

48.

Schwietert

C, J

(2018) Amy Padnani on The New York Times’ 'Overlooked' obituary series. Nieman Storyboard. https://niemanstoryboard.org/2018/03/27/amy-padnani-on-the-new-york-times-overlooked-obituary-series/

49.

Seely

(2019) Journalists and mental health: the psychological toll of covering everyday trauma. Newspaper Research Journal 40(2): 239–259. https://doi.org/10.1177/0739532919835612

50.

Spratt

(2008) When police dogs attacked: iconic news photographs and construction of history, mythology, and political discourse. American Journalism 25(2): 85–105. https://doi.org/10.1080/08821127.2008.10678111

51.

Staff writer (1970) 14 Mexican Newsmen Killed in Crash of Campaign Plane. Editor & Publisher. 11.

52.

Staff writer (1921a) Sylvester Rawling Dead: New York Evening World Music Critic Collapses at Desk, Editor & Publisher. 28.

53.

Staff writer (1921b) ‘Bat’ Masterson Dead: Old Frontiersman Dropped at His Desk in N.Y. Morning Telegraph Offices. Editor & Publisher. 37.

54.

Staff writer (1922) Nicholas Drops Dead at His Desk: Had Been Managing Editor of Seattle Post-Intelligencer--ten Years on Hearst Papers. Editor & Publisher.

55.

Staff writer (1923) Obituary. Editor & Publisher. 32.

56.

Staff writer (1927) Obituary. Editor & Publisher. 49.

57.

Staff writer (1930) Writer share in estate: Cincinnati Times-Star librarian makes bequests to fellow workers. Editor & Publisher, 54.

58.

Staff writer (1932) James A. Dunn Dies,” Editor & Publisher. 36.

59.

Staff writer (1934) Ransome Sutton. Editor & Publisher. 50.

60.

Staff writer (1935) Fremont Older. Editor & Publisher. 20.

61.

Staff writer (1936) Obituary. Editor & Publisher. VIII (in the special Equipment Review).

62.

Staff writer (1936b) Marlen Pew Is Dead; Held Post at Columbia. Columbia Daily Spectator. 4.

63.

Staff writer (1942) Obituary. Editor & Publisher, 38.

64.

Staff writer (1945) Obituary. Editor & Publisher. 59.

65.

Staff writer (1948) Our cover – and other city rooms. The Quill. 2.

66.

Staff writer (1951) Jordan Had Premonition He'D Die at His Desk,” Editor & Publisher. 8.

67.

Staff writer (1954) Bill Bade Dies in Harness at St. Paul, Was GR Editor. Guild Reporter. 2.

68.

Staff writer (1963) Gerald Long New Manager of Reuters. Editor & Publisher. 12.

69.

Staff writer (1984) Obituaries. Editor & Publisher. 16.

70.

Starck

(2007) Revelation, intrusion, and questions of taste: the ethical challenge for obituary editors. Journalism Practice 1(3): 372-382. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512780701505069

71.

Strauss

Corbin

(1998) Basics of Qualitative Research: Techniques and Procedures for Developing Grounded Theory. 2nd edition. Sage.

72.

Stupart

Sharp

(2024) Saints and witnesses: virtue and vocation in the memorialization of the Western conflict journalist. Media, War & Conflict 17(2): 196-212. https://doi.org/10.1177/17506352231184154

73.

Usher

(2015) Newsroom moves and the newspaper crisis evaluated: space, place, and cultural meaning. Media, Culture & Society 37(7): 1005–1021. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443715591668

74.

Usher

(2019) Putting “Place” in the Center of journalism research: a way forward to understand challenges to trust and knowledge in news. Journalism & Communication Monographs 21(2): 84–146. https://doi.org/10.1177/1522637919848362

75.

Villagrán Sánchez

López Pan

(2025) Beyond journalism about journalism? assessing the impact of metajournalistic discourse on journalism studies. Journalism Studies 26(2): 161–180. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2024.2414349

76.

Wahl-Jorgensen

(2019) Challenging presentism in journalism studies: an emotional life history approach to understanding the lived experience of journalists. Journalism 20(5): 670–678. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884918760670

77.

Wright

(1949) Cog vs. wheel: no, thanks – i’ll stay in small city. The Quill. 9-10.

78.

Yaqub

Beam

John

(2020) ‘We report the world as it is, not as we want it to be’: journalists’ negotiation of professional practices and responsibilities when reporting on suicide. Journalism 21(9): 1283–1299. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884917731957

79.

Zelizer

(1993) Journalists as interpretative communities. Critical Studies in Mass Communication 10: 219–237. https://doi.org/10.1080/15295039309366865