The NewsHour on Site at the Annual Meeting

Sometimes, stories in the press come about through careful planning and other times, by way of good neighbors and coincidences. How can that happen?

Here's a story about a story.

First, the good neighbor. APsaA member Ted Jacobs counts among his neighbors the veteran New York Times economics reporter, Louis Uchitelle [see Uchitelle's excerpts, page 25]. Last year, Uchitelle brought to Jacobs's attention his forthcoming book, The Disposable American: Layoffs and Their Consequences, which recounts the damage to mental health from job layoffs and the importance for clinicians to be aware of this stress factor among many Americans. Jacobs immediately saw the relevance to APsaA and so proposed to Committee on Public Information chair Kerry J. Sulkowicz that Uchitelle be the presenter for the session “Psychoanalysts and Journalists” at APsaA's 95th Annual Meeting.

Sometimes, stories in the press come about through careful planning and other times, by way of good neighbors and coincidences. How can that happen? Here's a story about a story.

Second, the coincidence. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to APsaA, there was continuing interest in the timely issue of job layoffs at PBS's The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. In particular, producer Lee Koromvokis had been consumed by this topic after covering the massive layoffs last year at Delphi, a Michigan automotive parts manufacturer. Koromvokis had learned of Lou Uchitelle's new book and was very intrigued—even more so when she learned that he would be presenting at APsaA's Annual Meeting in June. What intrigued her especially was that the session, “Journalists and Psychoanalysts,” would include not only a discussion between Uchitelle and chair Ted Jacobs, but also a Q & A with the audience. The prospect of The Newshour's viewers being able to hear directly from psychoanalysts on this topic might turn out to be the most memorable part of such a segment, Koromvokis thought.

Paul Solman, The NewsHour's economics reporter, reports on such issues working in tandem with Koromvokis. “What Paul and I always strive for in our work is the element of surprise. Sometimes, that comes in the form of new information. But often, it's a new way of looking at seemingly ‘old news.’ That's why, when we heard that Lou Uchitelle was addressing the American Psychoanalytic Association, we knew we had to be there. Because what could be more surprising than having a room full of shrinks pop up in a business and economics story about job layoffs?”

She continued: “The psychoanalysts in the audience did not disappoint. Their nearly unanimous show of hands to the questions, ‘How many of you have had a patient or patients who have been laid off?’ and ‘How many of you have had patients who have been traumatized by that event?’ was truly amazing, driving home the message of just how pervasive and powerful the pink slip experience has been. Their case studies of patients were illuminating and emotionally affecting.

“There's usually one quirky bit in every story that viewers wind up remembering, and our visit with the psychoanalysts may well turn out to be this story's memorable moment. Our thanks to the Association for letting us in.”

TAP was most interested in learning from Solman about his reaction to being with an audience of psychoanalysts. “What struck me was the near unanimity of the vote concerning the ‘trauma’ of layoffs. This, after all, is Lou Uchitelle's main point: That, regardless of what happens to the employee subsequently, the experience of being laid off is in itself devastating, as the data now confirm,” commented Solman. [See ]

The testimony that really made an impression on Solman was that of APsaA member Alexandra Rolde, who appears in Uchitelle's book. As this exchange was ultimately deleted from the final segment that aired on The News-Hour, TAP reports it here—with the hunch that TAP readers might be curious about what would be most striking to a seasoned reporter like Solman, who rarely is in a discussion with a group of psychoanalysts.