Trauma, Burnout, and Safety: A Survival Toolkit for Journalists
Join us on Monday, May 11, 2026, at Point Park University’s Center for Media Innovation in Pittsburgh, for our first in-person “Meet the Moment” session, which includes editors on the front lines of America’s current civil unrest. As part of a new series of training led by the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association Foundation’s Center for Journalism Excellence, this two-part session will offer valuable tools to help newsrooms navigate safely during real-time violent conflicts and also manage the excessive stress, trauma and burnout often caused by these news situations.
Register Now! Please register by May 4.
Discounted corporate rate overnight rooms are available by visiting the Point Park University website. The three closest to Point Park are: Hilton Garden Inn, the Industrialist and the Joinery.
Special thanks to our sponsors: Carnegie Mellon University, Duquesne University, Point Park University and the University of Pittsburgh. Their generosity is allowing us to hold this event free of charge for attendees.
PART I: 11 a.m. -12:30 p.m. Coping with stress, trauma and burnout in journalism: Using a biopsychosocial frame for wellbeing
In the wake of recent national events, journalists are carrying a unique emotional load: they’re expected to witness, absorb, and translate some of the hardest moments in people’s lives, often with very little time or space to process their own reactions.
This session will help journalists recognize early signs of emotional overload, how to avoid re-traumatizing interviewees, and understanding ethical considerations when balancing public interest with human dignity. We’ll discuss understanding the difference between stress, burnout and secondary traumatic stress and learn techniques for grounding and emotional decompression after difficult reporting days.
Presenter: Emily Sachs, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist and a consultant to the Global Center for Journalism and Trauma, where she directs the Journalist Trauma Support Network. She has provided trauma treatment for adults including refugees, veterans, survivors of sexual abuse and assault, and crisis management professionals, and held staff positions at the Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture and the San Francisco VA Medical Center. She has coordinated research programs in U.S. immigration detention centers and abroad in India. Dr. Sachs has created clinical curriculums for medical professionals at the VA and doctoral students at the Wright Institute, and regularly provides trauma-informed trainings for newsrooms and other journalism organizations. She has been treating journalists in her private practice since 2015.
12:30 – 1:30 p.m. Networking Lunch (lunch provided)
PART II: 1:30 – 3 p.m. First-hand Accounts from Journalists in the Arena
Over the past half dozen years, journalists in all parts of the country have found themselves on the front lines of an unprecedented level of civil discourse and unrest. From the social justice riots in the wake of George Floyd’s murder in 2020 to the violent ICE protests in recent months, journalists have been forced to navigate under extreme circumstances on America’s streets.
Two editors with experience on the front lines of some of the most traumatic events in recent years here in Pittsburgh and Minneapolis will share their insights into how best to equip yourself and your staffs with practical tools to stay safe by strengthening situational awareness and decision making, while also understanding risk assessment, emergency protocols and ethical considerations.
Presenters:
Katie Rausch, the assistant managing editor for photography at the Minnesota Star-Tribune. Katie Rausch is the Assistant Managing Editor of Photography at the Minnesota Star Tribune, where she oversees the incredible photo and video staffs.
Katie has spent her career in local journalism, where her work has often focused on stories and issues impacting people who have been underserved or underrepresented in traditional media organizations. Previously, Katie served as the Deputy Director of Photography at The Denver Post, and as a staff visual journalist with The Blade in Toledo, Ohio, and the Jackson Citizen Patriot in Jackson, Mich.
In 2025 Katie was awarded Picture Editor of the Year – Community by the National Press Photographers Association’s Best of Photojournalism. That same year she was also recognized with an Award of Excellence in the Visual Editor of the Year category of the 82d POY. Her work as a photojournalist has also been recognized by multiple organizations, including BOP, POY, the Michigan Press Photographers Association, and the Ohio News Photographers Association.
Chris Togneri, the assistant managing editor for business and public safety at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Togneri will lead this session that will take you inside their respective newsrooms’ strategies for managing dangerous news events. He is an editor at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette overseeing business and public safety coverage. He started his career in Slovakia at an English-language weekly newspaper, covered crime and public safety for the Modesto Bee in California’s central valley, then moved to Pittsburgh in 2007 to work for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He then spent three years as PIO for Pittsburgh Public Safety, and two years working in communications for Allegheny County before returning to journalism with the Post-Gazette in 2023. He is the proud father of a CAPA student, and husband to a Pittsburgh Public Safety social worker.
Questions about this program? Contact Teresa Shaak at teresas@pa-news.org or 717-703-3003.