Journalism’s silent crisis

Why mental health has become one of the biggest threats to press freedom, and why journalists increasingly need solid psychological support. For years journalism has been associated with resilience. Reporters are taught to move from one crisis to the next, to witness tragedy without losing focus and to keep working no matter how heavy the emotional pressure becomes.

Across newsrooms around the world journalists are struggling with anxiety, trauma, and burnout at levels the industry is only beginning to acknowledge. What was once known as ‘part of the job’ is now becoming impossible to ignore: journalism is facing a growing mental health crisis, and most media organisations are still not fully prepared to deal with it. I have worked in journalism since 2017 covering investigations, political developments and crises. Yet throughout those years, nobody ever explained what psychological trauma in journalism actually looks like, or how journalists are supposed to cope with it. Like many others I worked in newsrooms where emotional resilience, exposure to trauma, and the psychological impact of reporting were never openly discussed. There was no guidance on what happens after witnessing traumatic events, no conversations about burnout, anxiety, or emotional exhaustion. Psychological preparedness simply was not considered part of the job even though for many journalists it quietly becomes part of everyday life. One moment that has stayed with me more than any other was covering Albania’s devastating 2019 earthquake. Like many journalists in the field, I suddenly found myself witnessing scenes no newsroom training could truly prepare someone for. I remember watching victims being pulled from collapsed buildings while, at the same time, trying to keep reporting live updates and sending information back to my newsroom in real time. What stayed with me long after the story ended was not only the tragedy itself, but the silence that came after it. There were no conversations about trauma, no emotional debriefing, no psychological support, and very little safety infrastructure for journalists exposed to experiences like these.

Key points

• Across newsrooms around the world journalists are struggling with anxiety, trauma, and burnout at levels the industry is only beginning to acknowledge.
• What was once known as ‘part of the job’ is now becoming impossible to ignore: journalism is facing a growing mental health crisis, and most media organisations are still not fully prepared to deal…
• I have worked in journalism since 2017 covering investigations, political developments and crises.
• Yet throughout those years, nobody ever explained what psychological trauma in journalism actually looks like, or how journalists are supposed to cope with it.
• Like many others I worked in newsrooms where emotional resilience, exposure to trauma, and the psychological impact of reporting were never openly discussed.