I remember – for awhile at least – the content of the photo or the broadcast, and sympathise for the people who have lost their homes or loved ones in the thousands of disasters, accidents, incidents or battles that go on in the world every day. But to be honest, the majority of the time I never think of the people behind the camera, the ones whose jobs it is to report these things to us. From the tsunami in Asia to the conflict in East Timor to a car accident in Brisbane, journalists, photographers and camera crew are “sometimes the first on the scene”, even before police or ambulances.

It’s hard to imagine how I would react in a situation like that -your job description is the world, and all its extraordinary tales and suffering is your office.

For the journos and photographers who spoke at Thursday’s Trauma Night at the Regatta, while informative for us, it seemed more a way for them to self-medicate through talking of their own experiences, and each others. It’s nice to know that times are changing in this industry, but what about the thousands who never spoke about their traumatic days/weeks/months as they covered stories and who just “got on with the job” from fear of looking weak or not up to it – I feel for them and it’s good to know that things are changing for the better in this case.

It ain’t for the faint hearted, that’s for sure. That and don’t wear heels when you’re trekking around Brisbane…