Journalists are likely to face stressors from many directions in 2024: the demands of constant deadlines, industry-wide financial turmoil, and an uncertain election season ahead are among them.
Research shows these stressors affect journalists’ mental health. Depending on their beats or work locations, as many as 59% of journalists experience symptoms of serious stress including the inability to concentrate or to sleep, as well as feeling on edge, numb, or angry, according to the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma.
The National Press Club Journalism Institute produced a webinar focused on practical tips and effective methods for journalists and newsroom leaders to address stress and burnout.
Additional resources
- Journalists, we need to rethink how we fight burnout (Poynter)
- We navigate deep uncertainty with community (NiemanLab)
- Journalists are under stress. What’s the solution? (The Journalist’s Resource)
- Navigating burnout as a journalist (American Press Institute)
- Journalism with care (American Press Institute)
- The cure for burnout (hint: it isn’t self-care) (TED)
- Local journalism’s burnout crisis is unsustainable (Poynter)
About the speakers
About the National Press Club Journalism Institute
The National Press Club Journalism Institute promotes an engaged global citizenry through an independent and free press, and equips journalists with skills and standards to inform the public in ways that inspire a more representative democracy. As the non-profit affiliate of the National Press Club, the Institute powers journalism in the public interest.
The Institute depends on grants, foundation funds, and contributions from individuals like you. Your donation today allows the Institute to offer the majority of its programming at no cost.
Tara Francis Chan is managing editor & operations director at The Appeal, a worker-led nonprofit newsroom, focused on criminal justice reform. Tara was previously a senior editor at Newsweek and launch editor of Business Insider’s Asia desk. Prior to this, she was the editor of an Australian magazine and managed special projects including conferences, books, and masterclasses. Tara has a bachelor in communications and biochemistry, as well as a diploma in innovation management, from the University of New South Wales.
Naseem Miller joined The Journalist’s Resource in 2021 after working as a health reporter in local newspapers and national medical trade publications for two decades. Before joining JR, she was a senior health reporter at the Orlando Sentinel, where she was part of the team that was named a 2016 Pulitzer Prize finalist for its coverage of the Pulse nightclub mass shooting.
AX Mina is a co-creator of the Take Care/Make Care zine for the Care Collaboratory and part-time Program Director at The Self-Investigation, a non-profit supporting a healthy work culture in the media and communication industries. She is also a strategic consultant and leadership coach who’s supported news leaders and managers through programs with LION Publishers, The OpEd Project and the American Press Institute. She was a founding board member of the News Product Alliance and is a Senior Civic Media Fellow at the USC Annenberg School for Journalism and Communications. She is a certified trauma-informed yoga teacher and lifelong mindfulness practitioner.
Samantha Ragland, an experienced journalist, educator and digital strategist, leads the American Press Institute’s efforts to promote cultural transformation and business sustainability in media. Ragland has created workshops based on newsroom needs, including trauma and resiliency training developed in collaboration with clinical psychologists.
Bara Vaida joined the NPCJI in August 2023 after 11 years as a freelance journalist covering health care issues. Before that, she was a reporter for Kaiser Health News, National Journal, Technology Daily, Agence France-Presse Extel News, Bloomberg News, and the Times of Trenton. Vaida is also a 500-hour certified yoga instructor specializing in meditation and yoga therapeutics.