Academics, journalists and mental health experts are looking at the effects on reporters of covering traumatic events, at a weekend meeting at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ont.

Excerpt from a Canadian Press story:

The inaugural Canadian Journalism Forum on Violence and Trauma will explore treatment options and research into post-traumatic stress disorder.

Forum founder and lecturer Cliff Lonsdale says he hopes his new organization will eventually be able to finance research into the disorder and raise awareness about the risks journalists face.

The CP story cites a study by Patrice Keats of B.C.’s Simon Fraser University of substance abuse by journalists.