Newsrooms have long valorized grit. But in a landscape where trauma is both direct and vicarious, that mindset is increasingly dangerous. Resilience isn’t just personal — it must be cultural and systemic.
At our recent AP Forward webinar, Lyndall Herman of AP’s Global Safety, Risk and Resilience team put it plainly:
“Security isn’t just physical anymore. Cyber, psychological and physical threats are interlinked. We need a safety culture that reflects that.”
The shift means moving beyond optional wellness programs to embed psychological safety into newsroom operations. Burnout, anxiety, and online harassment have a chilling effect on reporting — especially among early-career, freelance, or identity-marginalized staff.
Kerry Paterson of NBC News added:
“We have to stop thinking online abuse is just noise. It shapes what journalists are willing to cover, and how they cover it.”
Ignoring these realities is not just a staff well-being issue — it’s a journalism integrity issue.
Actionable recommendations
- Normalize decompression. Schedule after-action reviews and make mental health check-ins part of assignment workflows.
- Designate support pathways. Journalists facing online abuse need a single, trusted contact—not a shuffle through departments.
- Lead by example. Managers who use time off and speak openly about stress set the tone for newsroom-wide resilience.
Questions for leaders
- Is your newsroom unintentionally glorifying burnout?
- Are frontline editors trained to spot signs of trauma or harassment fallout?
- Do freelancers and pther contributors have equal access to safety support?
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