With U.S. military involvement in Iraq ending and tens of thousands of troops returning home, news coverage rightfully focuses on the lives of these men and women and their adjustment to non-combat roles. Notable stories document the challenges facing those veterans coping with physical and mental health injuries, including depression and PTSD. However, what is typically missing in the analysis of post-war issues are accounts of the print and broadcast journalists who have spent extended time embedded with troops and bearing witness to death and destruction while working in harm’s way. Several recent research studies have documented that news media workers may suffer from stress, burnout and mental anguish, in percentages comparable to military personnel and other first responders, as a result of being brutally close to the action.
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