HonorsMultimediaWriting

When thinking about the most dangerous profession that a person could have, being a journalist is probably not the first job that pops into a person’s mind. Mike Walter, however, has proven why journalism can be dangerous both physically and emotionally.

Walter visited the Overby Center at Ole Miss on Monday as a guest speaker for the Meek School of Journalism and New Media’s Journalism Week. During his visit, Walter presented a film to Ole Miss students and faculty that detailed a project that he has been working on for several years.

Walter’s documentary, “Breaking News, Breaking Down,” follows his, along with other journalists’, experiences in covering the traumatic events of September 11.

Walter was in Washington, D.C. on September 11 when the Pentagon was attacked by terrorists. In witnessing and covering the event first-hand, Walter was left emotionally disturbed and confused.

The documentary shows the damaging effects that covering violent events can have on journalists. It focuses on journalists who covered the terrorist attacks of September 11 and the devastation in New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina.

Mike Walter discusses why dealing with the emotions of traumatic events is important. His goal in making the documentary is to make the public and other journalists more aware of how harmful covering catastrophic events can be and why it is important for journalists to seek solace after reporting these events.

The film includes a video clip of Walter being interviewed on CNN with the damaged Pentagon in the background and tears welling up in his eyes. Walter breaks down and we see how covering September 11 affected him.

“I just don’t know how I’m going to sleep tonight to be honest with you,” Walter told the interviewer.

Although Walter resisted going to therapy sessions after his traumatic experiences, he finally gave in and decided to try it out.

He advises other journalists to give therapy a chance and to talk to other journalists who have undergone the same experiences in order to come to terms with the damaging effects that journalism can cause.

Walter was advised by a friend to visit the DART Center for Journalism and Trauma, and after becoming a DART scholar in 2005, Walter became an advocate for the DART Center.

Along with other DART scholars, Walter began working on a program called Target: New Orleans for which he worked with journalists who covered Hurricane Katrina to help them deal with the pain that they were going in the aftermath of the storm.

Walter is currently working on other documentaries and with the DART Center, in hopes of helping journalists deal with the trials and tribulations of their jobs.

It’s nearing the end of the spring semester at Ole Miss, and once again fall registration is beginning.

Students are meeting with advisers to decide what classes they need to take for the 2010-2011 school year. 

“Next fall the class that I would have to say is probably gonna be my policymaking class.  As nerdy as it sounds, I kinda enjoy that kind of stuff,” sophomore Bill Smith said.

According to federal statistics, there are currently just under 13,000 undergraduate students enrolled at Ole Miss. That means getting into certain classes can be very competitive, even those that students don’t want to take.

“The class I’m least looking forward to is gonna have to be one of my Spanish classes, Smith said.  “I’m having a hard time speaking English, so speaking another language is definitely gonna be the worst one.”

Priority registration began on Wednesday, March 31.  General registration will continue until the beginning of the fall semester.