A Created Life - with Amanda St John

EP 34: Witnessing the Murder of Lyra McKee - Journalist Leona O'Neill on PTSD, Death Threats and the Challenges of Being a Front Line Reporter


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This week is a very inspiring and shocking interview with Journalist Leona O’Neill who has reported for the news in Northern Ireland for over 24 years. She explains the privilege that this is but also the dark side of how she has been harassed, threatened and how she experienced PTSD after witnessing the murder of fellow reporter Lyra McKee at a riot in 2019.


TOPICS INCLUDE:


  • Journalism and the transitional time for Northern Ireland around the Good Friday Agreement
  • Witnessing so much tragedy, murder, crime etc from the age of 20 years old. Both the fear and excitement of this
  • Her love for civil rights and being privileged to watch history unfold and to help capture it
  • The importance of gathering facts, as well as the stories from different voices/backgrounds and reporting impartially on these
  • Being strong in yourself and not being swayed by the opinions of others
  • Getting death threats from Justin Beiber fans!
  • The night that Lyra McKee was murdered and the PTSD that followed
  • Dealing with death threats, harassment and being scared in her own home
  • Understanding emotional triggers and her own trauma responses
  • The importance of therapy and daily self care in healing trauma
  • Her courage to share her story as well as capturing the story of other journalists in her book in the hope of shedding a light on mental health awareness and the support required for journalists moving forward


Get a copy of the book here: Breaking: Trauma in the News Room

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Breaking-Trauma-Newsroom-Chris-Lindsay-ebook/dp/B0BDY1F4H6/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1T0VCUOD4F8HG&keywords=book+breaking+trauma+in+the+newsroom&qid=1679927899&sprefix=book+breaking+trauma+in+teh+newroom%2Caps%2C132&sr=8-1


Connect with Leona:

https://twitter.com/LeonaONeill1


Bio:

Leona O'Neill is the head of Undergraduate Journalism at Ulster University. Before that she was a journalist for 24 years.  

She has been a news reporter for the Belfast Telegraph and others across Northern Ireland, a broadcast journalist, and a magazine editor.  

She writes a weekly column in the Irish News and is Northern Ireland Field Producer for Vice News, Al Jazeera, CBC News, ABC Australia and PBS Newshour. 

 

In 2019 she was beside journalist Lyra McKee when she was shot dead at a riot in Derry-Londonderry, an incident that traumatised her, leaving her with PTSD. 

 

In 2022 she published a book Breaking: Trauma in the Newsroom with the BBC’s Chris Lindsay that gathered stories from journalists who broke the news and the news broke them.  

 

She is an avid campaigner for journalism safety and better mental health in newsrooms, is. Ted speaker and regularly talks on the issue in conferences across the world. 


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A Created Life - with Amanda St JohnBy Amanda St John

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