CBC Radio - PTSD documentary

[johnchipman]

Hi there,
My name is John Chipman. I am a radio documentary maker with The Sunday Edition on CBC Radio. I am working on a radio doc about occupational stress injuries and PTSD among reservists. I'm looking for reservists or their families to talk abou their experiences overseas and their experiences re-integrating into Canadian civilian life. And I can assure you that I am not a journalist looking to sensationalize your story, it will be handled with the dignity and respect it deserves. I can be reached at 416 205 2545 or [email protected].
Best, John

 

[The Bread Guy]

Good day, John - welcome to Milnet.ca!

You've come to a source of a wide range of military experience. 

In case you haven't seen it yet, here's a little intro we share with journalists:
http://forums.milnet.ca/forums/threads/102806.0.html

Also, no need to multi-post to different areas - folks will see your request.

Don't be shy about posting previous work to give folks a sense of how you do things.

Good hunting.

Milnet.ca Staff

 

[MikeL]

Contacting Military Minds would be another good place to look for people.

 

[Nemo888]

About time.

 

[Strike]

John,

For the sake of those who may be interested in talking to you, what is the angle you are going for?  Are you looking to examine how the reserve units and CF help reservists reintegrate?  Maybe how the reservists' employers deal with them and their follow-up care?  Both?

Not a reservist myself, but these were the questions that popped in to my head when I saw your post.

 

[PuckChaser]

For the sake of those who may be interested in talking to you, what is the angle you are going for?  Are you looking to examine how the reserve units and CF help reservists reintegrate?  Maybe how the reservists' employers deal with them and their follow-up care?  Both?

Good questions, especially in light of the bad press the CBC has gotten in its handling of military stories as of late.

 

[Jarnhamar]

I'll bite.

John I want to take your question at face value and give you the benefit of the doubt, especially since I have friends whom are reservists that served overseas- some of which I believe are affected with PTSD and could be helped.
(Also important to note you mentioned families and how a loved one integrating back into society may be difficult, good move)

That said I have lost all trust faith and respect in anything to do with the CBC after their 'racist video expose' just before remembrance day.

Truth be told I am surprised and a little suspicious over the timing of your post... 

After CBCs dishonorable behavior from first trying to sensationalize that story to trying to push the military police into action then turning Shaun Majumder into a hypocrite in a lame attempt to give CBCs claims credibility I would sooner pass along my peers email addresses and contact information to the Al Jazeera network.

cheers.

 

[Strike]

I wasn't trying to stir the pot.  In fact, I think looking into how the civilian work place handles returning soldiers who have been diagnosed with PTSD or some other injury would be very interesting, especially if it is compared to how a Reg force soldier is treated at their unit.

 

[Infanteer]

And I can assure you that I am not a journalist looking to sensationalize your story, it will be handled with the dignity and respect it deserves.

Perhaps you can pass that mantra to your peers.

 

[Kat Stevens]

And a special "wipe that smug look off your face every time you take a crap on our troops" to Mr Mansbridge, if you please.

 

[Bass ackwards]

I notice that the o/p registered on 15 Nov., hasn't been active since 19 Nov. and has spent a grand total of 1 hour and 4 minutes here (logged in).
There is a John Chipman employed by the CBC (I checked) but I can't help but wonder if he decided the place was too hostile to the CBC and decided to seek more fertile ground.
Or, perhaps, he was just trolling... 

 

[Strike]

I notice that the o/p registered on 15 Nov., hasn't been active since 19 Nov. and has spent a grand total of 1 hour and 4 minutes here (logged in).
There is a John Chipman employed by the CBC (I checked) but I can't help but wonder if he decided the place was too hostile to the CBC and decided to seek more fertile ground.
Or, perhaps, he was just trolling...

Or maybe he doesn't have time to be surfing the whole site or checking the thread everyday and only checks it when people post on it.  Give the guy a break.

 

[Jarnhamar]

PTSD among soldiers is used by the Communist Party of Canada as  :blah:

Reading your posts is starting to give me PTSD.

I notice that the o/p registered on 15 Nov., hasn't been active since 19 Nov. and has spent a grand total of 1 hour and 4 minutes here (logged in).
There is a John Chipman employed by the CBC (I checked) but I can't help but wonder if he decided the place was too hostile to the CBC and decided to seek more fertile ground.
Or, perhaps, he was just trolling... 

I was curious as to whether or not Mr Chipman would return after his oddly timed post.

I would have suspected a journalist who seemingly wanted to appear legit and professional would have at least returned for a follow up or defended his OP.

All things considered I think the replies he received were far from hostile.

 

[The Bread Guy]

I notice that the o/p registered on 15 Nov., hasn't been active since 19 Nov. and has spent a grand total of 1 hour and 4 minutes here (logged in).
There is a John Chipman employed by the CBC (I checked) but I can't help but wonder if he decided the place was too hostile to the CBC and decided to seek more fertile ground.
Or, perhaps, he was just trolling...

Or maybe he was/is just waiting to see who would e-mail him.  Shame he wasn't able to share previous work to show how he handles stories.  Oh well....

Folks know where to reach him if they're interested - time for a lock.

Milnet.ca Staff

 

[johnchipman]

Hi there,
It's John Chipman from The Sunday Edition at CBC Radio. I posted here last November looking for reservists to speak about their experiences with PTSD for a radio documentary I'm working on. I left my phone number and email for anyone interested in finding out for more about the project, or myself. A number of people contacted me, so thank you to Army.ca for providing this outreach platform. But I am new to this type of message board and it did not occur to me to look back here to follow comments. I left my contacts. If people had questions, I assumed they would get in touch. It wasn't until someone called me today to say there was a comment thread (much of it hostile) on the post that I tweaked onto the fact that people were also posting here. It seems embarrassingly obvious now that I should have been monitoring the site as well, but it was an honest oversight.

Anyway, that's a long way of saying I'm sorry if anyone was offended by my out-of-the-blue request, and then sudden silence. But please know I have been working diligently for the past two months talking with reservists and Reg Force soldiers, and their families, right across the country. I am not a soldier or reservist myself, but I feel strongly that this is an important issue that is not understood or appreciated among the civilian population. I was not, and am still not, interested in sensationalizing the issue. It's clear there's a lot of hostility and mistrust about the media in general and the CBC in particular, and I know much of it is well earned. All I can stand on is my own work.

The focus of my radio documentary will be a reservist chaplain who counseled many injured soldiers and the families of fallen soldiers, and ended up developing PTSD himself. He and his family have paid a heavy price. He has struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts,  and guilt that he doesn't have the right to be struggling because he did not see front-line combat. I think his story speaks to the depth and complexity of PTSD when even the people tasked with helping soldiers struggling with it are not immune themselves. The documentary will be going to air in February or March. I will post back here when I have an air date. And I sincerely hope listeners, and especially soldiers, hear some truth in it.

Best regards,
John Chipman
The Sunday Edition
CBC Radio
416 205 2545
[email protected]

 

[The Bread Guy]

Welcome back, John.

Any folks interested in contacting John, you have his phone number and e-mail, or you can PM him.

Milnet.ca Staff

 

[johnchipman]

Hi there,
My name is John Chipman, I'm a documentary producer with The Sunday Edition at CBC Radio. I put out a call last November on this forum for a project I was putting together about PTSD. I just wanted to let everyone know that it's done and is going to air tomorrow morning (Sunday, Feb. 24/13) after the news at 9 am on CBC Radio 1 (in all time zones). It's available right now online at:

http://www.cbc.ca/thesundayedition/documentaries/2013/02/24/the-trauma-of-post-traumatic-stress-disorder/

I ended up focusing on a padre who developed PTSD. Please spread the word if you can, he really put himself out there.
Best, John

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

Thanks John

 

[The Bread Guy]

Thanks for the head's up, John.

 

[The Bread Guy]

Bumped with a link to a bit of the story ....
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2013/02/22/ptsd-chaplain-sunday-edition-documentary.html

.... as well as a link to the ~24 minute audio piece:
http://www.cbc.ca/player/Shows/ID/2337875000/