Wednesday, June 12, 2024 @ 7 pm in Susman
Tamara Cherry is an award-winning journalist, trauma researcher and communications consultant who spent nearly 15 years of her career as a crime reporter for the Toronto Star, Toronto Sun, and CTV News Toronto.
Tamara’s latest book, The Trauma Beat: A Case for Re-Thinking the Business of Bad News, was described in a Quill & Quire starred review as “a stunning work that should be required reading for journalism students, news reporters, true crime junkies, and anyone who wants to write narratives that heal, instead of harm.” HuffPost compared The Trauma Beat to Prince Harry’s Spare, calling it a “brilliant and honest debut” that shows “the messy blurry lines of entertainment, public personas, sense of privacy and autonomy, and ravenous way the public thrives on public anguish.” Publishers Weekly wrote that The Trauma Beat “makes a convincing case for centering the feelings of victims and survivors in stories of violence and tragedy,” and that it is “a revealing take for journalists and true crime junkies alike.” Tamara is also the author of All the Bumpy Pebbles, a novel about the domestic sex trafficking of women and girls, which was inspired by her award-winning work reporting on human trafficking in Canada.
Highly regarded in the survivor support community, Tamara assisted in the development of the Victimology program at Durham College, east of Toronto, where she created and taught for several years the Victims and the Impact of the Media course. She has routinely aided in the media training of police officers across Ontario and has been called upon as an expert presenter on the topic of human trafficking for police officers, Crown attorneys and front-line service providers. Members of the media frequently turn to Tamara to comment on stories involving trauma, and she is a regular commentator and host across the iHeartRadio Talk Network.
In May 2020, Tamara launched a research project examining the impact of the media on trauma survivors, and the impact of trauma on members of the media. This project gathered the experiences of more than 100 trauma survivors and journalists across Canada and the United States, with the goal of producing trauma-informed educational materials for journalists, victim service providers, and justice-sector partners.
Integrity, compassion and professionalism have earned Tamara respect across the police, victim services and criminal justice sectors, as well as among her journalism peers. She proudly serves clients across North America.
Achievements: 2019 Canadian Screen Awards - Best Local Reporter nominee, 2019 and 2017 RTDNA Awards - Dave Rogers Award nominee, 2013 Peel Regional Police Chief's Certificate - First civilian recipient, 2011 and 2010 York Regional Police Media Award recipient, 2010 Stop Human Trafficking National Awards Ceremony - Educating Freedom Award recipient, 2008 Peel Regional Police Media Award recipient.
In The Trauma Beat, an eye-opening combination of investigative journalism and memoir, former big-city crime reporter and Pickup Communications founder Tamara Cherry calls on her award-winning skills as a journalist to examine the impact of the media on trauma survivors and the impact of trauma on members of the media. As Tamara documents the experiences of those who were forced to suffer on the public stage, she is confronted by everything she got wrong on the crime beat.
From murders and traffic fatalities to sexual violence and mass violence, Cherry exposes a system set up to fail trauma survivors and journalists. Why do some families endure a swell of unwanted attention after the murder of a loved one, while others suffer from a lack of attention? What is it like to have a microphone shoved in your face seconds after escaping the latest mass shooting? What is the lasting impact on the reporter holding that microphone? The Trauma Beat explores these issues with the raw, reflective detail of a journalist moving from ignorance to understanding and shame to healing. Source.
Check it out!
Available in eBook and eAudiobook on Hoopla. Requires registration using an email and SSPL library card.
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