Behind the Headlines with Headlines Network

Hannah Storm and John Crowley speak with Fergal Keane, in a special episode to coincide with the launch of his new book ‘The Madness’.  After decades covering some of the most dangerous places in the world, Fergal reflects on the trauma he has experienced as a journalist, and how his childhood shaped his mental health. This conversation takes us from his Irish roots to reflections on the genocide in Rwanda, and the guilt he felt after, to Ukraine where he has covered the refugee story in his commitment to step back from conflict.  Fergal explains how he wrote the book to try to make sense of his mental health, including his PTSD and alcoholism and he offers hope to others struggling with isolation. It’s a fascinating conversation with one of the BBC’s most well-known journalists, who offers a clarion call to our industry to take seriously conversations about mental health in journalism and reminds us that mental health is an ongoing journey.  WARNING: Contains some strong language and adult themes.

Leona O'Neill is our guest for this World Mental Health Day episode. Here she speaks with Hannah Storm and John Crowley about the horrific moment when fellow journalist Lyra McKee was shot dead as she stood next to her, while covering a riot in Northern Ireland.   Leona shares how in the aftermath of that trauma, she became the target of violent online threats and how these episodes impacted her mental health. Speaking with humanity and immense bravery, Leona describes how she was motivated to channel her trauma to tackle taboos in our industry, and how the book, 'Breaking: Trauma in the Newsroom' came from that.  The book, published this month and edited by Leona and the BBC's Chris Lindsay, combines the courageous testimonies of journalists who describe how their work has impacted their mental health. It's a tribute to their courage and to the determination of our podcast guest and her passion to move from a news culture that breaks us to one that makes better journalism.

In this episode, Hannah Storm and John Crowley are joined by Alex Crawford, Special Correspondent for Sky News, who talks about some of the more traumatic moments of her journalism career, such as being kidnapped in Afghanistan, and when she was trapped in a Mosque in Libya, where she witnessed the suffering of injured and dying people.  By bravely sharing her experiences of post-traumatic stress disorder, Crawford offers a message of hope to those who may feel ashamed or isolated, and a reminder of why she and so many other journalists keep on returning to stories where they risk their own safety, in order to bear witness and hold power to account.

Hannah Storm and John Crowley speak with ABC correspondent James Longman.  In this episode James talks about the sense of responsibility he feels towards those he interviews, in particular the impact on them of being asked to relive often traumatic experiences, and the risks they take in sharing their stories. He recounts some of the devastating experiences of people he has met during his war reporting and what happened when he came out to a Chechen Police Chief who had been spearheading the persecution of homosexuality in Chechnya.  James tells John and Hannah how he copes with the pressures of social media, and how he manages to show a side of himself that's separate from his journalism, while at the same time protecting his mental health.  He also shares his own story, one that has seen him investigate his family's history of mental ill health, after the suicides of his father and grandfather, and he speaks openly about his experiences of depression and illness. In doing so, he underscores the importance of being able to speak more openly about issues relating to mental health and how hearing the stories of others has helped him feel less alone. Content warning: this episode deals with the issue of suicide and contains accounts of covering war zones that listeners may find traumatic.

Hannah Storm and John Crowley host a special conversation between two ITN colleagues, Emily Morgan and Victoria Macdonald, who share their experiences of covering the Covid pandemic. In this episode, Victoria, the Health and Social Care Editor for Channel 4 News, and Emily, the Health Editor at ITV News – talk about the unprecedented nature of news reporting in the past two and a half years and how the toll of continuous reporting on Covid led them both to seek out therapy. With refreshing honesty, they talk about the impact of their work on their mental health - something that many in journalism still find it hard to discuss. They share how they gained support from each other and their newsrooms. Emily and Victoria also pay tribute to the people whose stories they have shared during the pandemic, speak about navigating a constantly changing and uncertain story and dealing with conspiracy theories and online falsehoods. This is an episode that reminds us why journalists matter and why journalism matters even more at times of public health crises.

Hannah Storm and John Crowley speak with Stuart Ramsay, Sky News’s longest serving foreign correspondent. In this episode, Stuart shares previously unpublished details about the ambush by Russian soldiers which he and his team survived in Ukraine earlier this year. He describes the moment he was shot and how he discovered the full extent of the bullet impacts he sustained. Stuart tells Hannah and John how he decompresses after a particularly tough assignment, the importance of working as part of a team, and offers his advice to others on how to look after their mental health - and how conversations about wellbeing have changed in the industry.

Hannah Storm and John Crowley speak with Mark Little, the Irish journalist, television presenter and author. In this wide-ranging conversation, Mark shares how a serious skiing accident helped him reassess his relationship with the 'gung-ho' school of journalism that he'd been part of, and allowed him to realise the importance of resilience, mission and purpose. Mark shares his journey from the streets of Belfast where he began his journalism career to war zones and environmental disasters, to the decision he made to set up Storyful, the world's first social media agency. He pays tribute to the team there which built a new form of journalism at a time when social media felt liberating – while sharing his concerns around how the Internet has now been weaponised.  More than a decade after leaving traditional journalism, he explains why he thinks war corresponding shares similarities with tech start-ups in the sense that failure is seen as anathema to both. And he explains how he has learned to accept failure as part of his life, as well as anxiety, and how in learning to live with it, he believes we can flourish.

In this episode of Behind the Headlines, Hannah Storm and John Crowley speak with Gina Chua, the newly-appointed executive editor of Semafor, and former executive editor at Reuters. As one of the most high-profile openly trans women in media, Gina explains how she was able to - in her words -  'ease into a new skin' during the pandemic, and how doing so helped her be better at her job. Gina also offers her insights, after years overseeing safety and operations at Reuters, into some of our industry's most pressing mental health and safety issues, including vicarious trauma. She issues a plea to news organisations to adequately resource stories in order to better support journalists and journalism, and explains why she believes journalism should go back to its roots of serving communities.

Hannah Storm and John Crowley speak with Marianna Spring, the BBC’s first specialist disinformation reporter. Speaking candidly and compassionately, Marianna shares her insights into the impact of conspiracy theories and online falsehoods on those whose stories she shares, and explains the importance of empathy in her work. This conversation offers an important insight into how issues of journalism safety are no longer limited to physical environments, and how the toll of online harm has an impact on journalists’ mental health too - and is an  issue we need to speak about more openly.

Hannah Storm and John Crowley speak with Bryony Gordon, the award-winning journalist who, alongside an incredibly successful work life has shared candidly her experiences of mental ill health in newspaper columns, podcasts and best-selling books. In this episode, Bryony talks about body positivity, how she has overcome shame and isolation, and how sharing her mental health story as a journalist and writer has become part of her survival. In a conversation threaded with honesty and humanity, she reflects on why the past two years have been particularly detrimental to so many people and why she believes connection is absolutely vital to helping improve people's mental health. WARNING: Contains some strong language and adult themes.

Hannah Storm and John Crowley speak with Clive Myrie, BBC journalist, newsreader and presenter. In a wide-ranging and candid conversation, Clive discusses his recent reporting on the conflict in Ukraine and his experiences of covering Covid, paying tribute to the people with whom he has worked and detailing his determination to provide dignity to those whose stories he shares. Offering his thoughts on the importance of due impartiality, the impact that race has had on his reporting, and his perspective on press freedom and the Russian President Putin, he reflects on a career that has taken him around the world. Speaking with startling openness for a notoriously private individual, he shared how he manages his mental health and maintains perspective when covering difficult stories, and how he has adapted to the significant profile that has come with presenting the quiz show Mastermind.

John Crowley and Hannah Storm speak with Dr Sian Williams, best known for her career as a journalist and news presenter, who has recently passed her doctorate in Counselling Psychology. Speaking with extraordinary humanity and candour, Sian explains what resilience has meant to her personally, how empathy lies at the heart of journalism and how in order for journalism to thrive, we need to get better at supporting journalists.

To mark a decade since the death of war correspondent Marie Colvin, Hannah Storm and John Crowley chat to Lyse Doucet and Lindsey Hilsum about reporting from conflict zones and the legacy of Marie.  Lyse is a Chief International Correspondent for the BBC and Lindsey is International Editor for Channel 4 News. In a lively and humorous discussion, they pay tribute to their friend, talk about the challenges they have faced and the risks that are worth - and not worth - taking.  Behind the Headlines is created by Headlines Network which was set up to promote more open conversations about mental health in the news media. www.headlines-network.com. Get in touch with us at info@headlines-network.com