What’s the real cost of telling the story?
In this powerful episode of The Brandinc PR Podcast, host Brandi Sims, Founder & CEO of Brandinc PR, sits down with sisters Chelsea Fuller and Takara Pierce, co-founders of Black Alder — a PR and narrative strategy firm leading conversations on equitable storytelling and trauma-informed media practices.
Together, they unpack their groundbreaking new report, The Cost of the Story: Journalists, Trauma, and the Communities Left Holding the Story — the first comprehensive study examining how covering traumatic events impacts both journalists and the communities they represent.
💬 Highlights from the report include:
- 79.4% of journalists report mild to moderate stress
- 74.1% experience mild to moderate anxiety
- 75.3% have never sought professional mental health support
- 32.9% say their newsroom provides no mental health resources
Brandi, Chelsea, and Takara dive deep into how identity and lived experience shape the storytelling process, why newsroom culture must evolve, and what PR pros can do to foster care-centered partnerships with the media.
🎙 Tune in to learn:
- Why newsroom trauma is an overlooked crisis
- How PR and journalism intersect through empathy and ethics
- The next steps for a more responsible media future
📰 Read the full report:
https://www.blackalderlabs.org/the-cost-of-the-story
🌿 Learn more about Black Alder:
https://www.blackalderlabs.org
💼 Work with Brandinc PR:
https://brandincpr.com/contact
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Host
Brandi SIms
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