Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1467606
46 SAGAFTRA | Spring 2022 | sagaftra.org Broadcast News S AG-AFTRA broadcaster members from around the country joined Broadcast Steering Committee Vice Chair Tracee Wilins and hief roadcast fficer ary avallaro for a webinar titled e ont Lines: em inar on anag ing and eviat ing aum a or our nal ist s. The Dec. 11 seminar featured Al Tompkins, author and senior staff member at Poynter Institute, and his wife Sidney Tompkins, a licensed psychotherapist and retired clergywoman. They work with newsrooms across the country to help journalists manage traumatic stress and to learn to take better care of themselves. The news the last few years has included the coronavirus, election coverage, the insurrection at the Capitol, protests for racial justice, fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, escalating crime and gun violence, and attacks directed at journalists covering the news These stories have not only een difficult for the eole who experienced them, but also traumatic for the journalists who report them. The Tominses led the conversation as a first ste to heling journalists manage their trauma and begin the process of healing so they can continue to do the important work they do every day. Managing Trauma for the Ones Who Inform America From left, Tracee Wilkins, Sidney Tompkins, Al Tompkins and Mary Cavallaro in a webinar on how broadcasters can manage traumatic stress. Total Traffic Ne Co On S AG-AFTRA locals, including Los Angeles, New ngland, New York, Philadelphia and Washington-Mid Atlantic, have recently completed bargaining with iHeart media for successor agreements with Total Traffic and Weather Network. Chicago, San Francisco and Seattle negotiations are to follow. Bargaining priorities for TTWN members across the country include language on remote work, COVID safety protocols in studio, increases to wages and securing the new company holiday of Juneteenth. Broadcaster Members Caught in the Line of Fire in Ukraine T he loss of life and human tragedy that the world has witnessed since the start of the war in Ukraine is truly incomprehensible. The stories and the images that we have heard and seen are largely the work of the thousands of journalists who are covering this story. SAG-AFTRA journalists are among the many on the ground in Ukraine or in neighboring countries for the purpose of bringing this story to the world. Unfortunately, these journalists have often been the victims of the atrocities of this war. As of the date of this article, Reporters Without Borders has documented as many as seven reporter deaths and 11 journalists injured by gunfire The victims of these attacs were riding in vehicles mared ress and TV," working in buildings known to be television or radio stations and are known to have been wearing press badges or armbands clearly identifying them as ress any have had their euiment confiscated y Russian military personnel. Journalists have brought us stories of the indiscriminate taking of civilian life and of the moments of compassion and humanity in the face of this brutality. Journalists know the dangers of covering a war. They know that they will be targets, and we are grateful for the work they do.