Safety in Focus

This workshop dives into the heart of trauma-informed journalism, offering essential strategies to protect mental health in high-stress reporting environments. Designed for visual journalists, it addresses the emotional demands of working in today’s landscape—while staying grounded and ethical. From assignment planning through post-publication, we’ll explore how to better care for ourselves and protect the people whose stories we tell. Expect actionable tools for emotional resilience, source care, and building personal habits that prioritize both safety and compassion. Through guided, skills-based activities, participants will practice applying these concepts to real-world reporting scenarios, from documenting crisis in one’s hometown to managing exposure to traumatic content. The workshop emphasizes practical skill building, equipping journalists with concrete strategies they can immediately integrate into their reporting workflows and professional routines. 

Facilitators

• Lucy Westcott, Chief Emergencies Officer, Committee to Protect Journalists
• Jenny Stratton, CatchLight 

Guest Speakers

• Dr. Lauren Walsh, Director of the Gallatin Photojournalism Intensive, New York University 

Photojournalists covering protests and civil unrest often work in challenging and changing environments. This online workshop will cover some of the essential personal protective equipment (PPE) that photojournalists should carry with them and how to most effectively use it. CatchLight will support U.S.-based journalists who attend the training to apply to RSF’s Providing Reporters with Emergency Safety Supplies (PRESS) Fund for PPE.

Facilitators

• Anastasia Tkach, Journalist Safety Manager, Committee to Protect Journalists
• Jenny Stratton, Executive Editor, CatchLight 

Guest Speakers

• Christopher Jones, Journalist Safety Advisor, Committee to Protect Journalists
• Benjamin Grazda, Advocacy Manager, RSF USA  

Lucy Westcott  became director of CPJ’s Emergencies Department in October 2021. She oversees CPJ’s assistance and safety work worldwide. Westcott joined CPJ in 2018 as the James W. Foley Fellow. During her fellowship, she focused on safety issues for women journalists in non-hostile environments and assisted with the creation of safety resources for journalists globally. In 2021, she played a prominent role in CPJ’s response to the Afghan crisis, including helping Afghan journalists and their families evacuate to Qatar. Prior to joining CPJ, Westcott was a staff writer for Newsweek, where she covered gender and immigration. She has reported for outlets including The Intercept, Bustle, The Atlantic, and Women Under Siege, and was a United Nations correspondent for the Inter Press Service.. She has reported from Egypt, Jordan, Cameroon, and the U.S. She has a master’s in multi-platform journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom.

Anastasia Tkach became CPJ’s Journalist Safety Manager in February 2025. Tkach joined CPJ in 2023 as Emergencies Administrative Associate. She has previous experience in nonprofits and human rights and has interned at UN Women Kosovo, Civil Rights Defenders in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Freedom House. Tkach holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Eastern European Studies from the University of Michigan and a master’s degree in Eastern European Regional Studies from Columbia University in the City of New York.  

Jenny Stratton is a multimedia journalist, artist, visual researcher and educator. Concurrent with producing documentary and public art projects, Jenny works with schools, libraries, social justice and grassroots organizations to develop creative collaborations, participative mediamaking practices and community programming. She completed a U.S. Education Department FLAS fellowship in Arabic Language and Middle Eastern Studies and was a Lewis Hine Fellow at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University focusing on restorative narratives and maternal healthcare. Jenny is the Executive Editor at CatchLight, a visual-first media organization that leverages the power of visual storytelling to inform, connect, and transform communities. She is also currently a member of the 2025 ACOS Alliance Editor Safety cohort.

Dr. Lauren Walsh teaches at New York University, where she is the Director of the Gallatin Photojournalism Intensive. Walsh is the author of multiple books, including Conversations on Conflict Photography and Through the Lens: The Pandemic and Black Lives Matter, as well as publications on topics ranging from photojournalism and moral injury to documentation of war crimes to censorship. Walsh heads media/visual literacy educational initiatives both in the U.S. and abroad, and has led workshops and lectured globally, with an emphasis on ethics and photography, as well as safety and mental health concerns for journalists. Currently, in Ukraine, she is running the first-ever nationwide survey on mental health and media workers in a war-time setting. 

Christopher Jones is Journalist Safety Advisor at the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Prior to joining CPJ, Jones worked in Ukraine as Medical Operations Chief for Prevail, a humanitarian demining organization. He has worked for many years as a press security advisor, providing physical and digital security advice to journalists, developing and delivering HEFAT courses, and providing rapid response assistance to journalists facing active threats. He previously worked as an investigative journalist and photographer in Afghanistan, Myanmar, and the U.S. 

Ben Grazda is the advocacy manager at Reporters Without Borders North America, where he supports efforts to defend press freedom and freedom of expression in the US and globally. Previously, he worked at Access Now, advocating for internet freedom in repressive environments and against unregulated technology in conflict. He has also supported whistleblowers in exposing corporate misconduct, and worked for humanitarian organizations in Kenya, Nigeria, Iraq, and Syria. Earlier in his career, Ben served in the U.S. Senate. He holds a master’s degree in Conflict Studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a bachelor’s from American University.

CPJ is an independent, nonprofit organization that promotes press freedom worldwide. They defend the right of journalists to report the news safely and without fear of reprisal. CPJ’s Emergencies team helps journalists in difficult and unsafe situations around the world through tailored safety workshops, publishing up-to-date safety and security information, and providing rapid response assistance to journalists at risk.

CatchLight is a visual-first media organization that leverages the power of visual storytelling to inform, connect, and transform communities.

Reporters Without Borders promotes and defends the freedom to be informed and to inform others throughout the world.

10 AM PT/ 12 PM CT / 1 PM ET 

Safety in Focus: Putting Risk assessments into Practice for Visual Journalism

This hands-on session explores how safety planning varies across visual journalism roles and assignments. Through participatory exercises, attendees will create real-world risk assessments and discuss how to prioritize safety considerations. The workshop will also cover resources and approaches for navigating assignment preparation and safety conversations from different perspectives — whether you’re a freelancer, staff photographer, or editor.

Facilitators:  Lucy Westcott, Committee to Protect Journalists  & Jenny Stratton, CatchLight

Speakers: 

• Colin Pereira, Journalist Safety Specialist, Committee to Protect Journalists
• Jon Laurence, Supervising Executive Producer, AJ+

9 AM PT/ 11 PM CT / 12 PM ET 

Safety in Focus: Visualizing Digital Safety

Visual journalism has a myriad of unique digital risks–this workshop provides strategies and tools to help safeguard your individual and newsroom’s digital footprint as well as the people you photograph or collaborate with. Topics will include protecting personal data, secure communications, data encryption and metadata protection. Special emphasis will be placed on protecting sources in high-risk situations and understanding your resources and best practices around digital security.

Facilitators:  Lucy Westcott, Committee to Protect Journalists  & Jenny Stratton, CatchLight

Guest Speakers: 

• Ela Stapley, Committee to Protect Journalists, Digital Security Advisor  

10 AM PT/ 12 PM CT / 1 PM ET 

Safety in Focus: Bearing Witness, Staying Grounded: Safety and Source Care for Visual Journalists

This workshop dives into the heart of trauma-informed journalism, offering essential strategies to protect mental health in high-stress reporting environments. Designed for visual journalists, it addresses the emotional demands of working in today’s media landscape — while staying grounded and ethical.

From assignment planning through post-publication, we’ll explore how to better care for ourselves and protect the people whose stories we tell, through sharing actionable tools and practices for emotional resilience, source care, and building professional and personal habits that prioritize both safety and compassion.

Facilitators:: Lucy Westcott, Committee to Protect Journalists  & Jenny Stratton, CatchLight 

Guest Speakers: 

• Dr. Lauren Walsh, Director of the Gallatin Photojournalism Intensive, New York University
• Sarah Blessener, Visual Journalist & 2017 CatchLight Global Fellow