by Dr Anne O’Brien, Maynooth University
International research shows that journalists are experiencing a mental health crisis in the form of depression, stress, burnout and suicide ideation.
Maynooth University’s Dr Anne O’ Brien in collaboration with Shine, Ireland’s national agency for support, advocacy and education for mental illness, are undertaking research to better understand the challenges facing journalists and identify practical actions that can strengthen supports, training and workplace wellbeing across the sector.
Funded by Research Ireland, the research includes surveying Irish journalists to ask if they are experiencing a mental health crisis and if it is rooted in working conditions in the sector and/or in the content that journalists cover.
Many journalists experience stress in their work, which arises in part from the nature of the materials on which they report. Stories are often psychologically and emotionally challenging. Covering events such as wars or crisis reporting can also be traumatising (Storm, 2024).
In addition, there is increasing harassment and abuse of many journalists as a result of online platforms’ capacities for comments and public engagement (Bossio et al. 2024).
There has also been a significant deterioration in the working conditions of journalists in the last decade. Their working practices change frequently in response to new technologies or sharing platforms. Digital media requires rapid turnaround and constant updates, and journalists’ published work and any mistakes remain search-able forever, with the potential for reputational and career damage.
Journalists are required to function in a very stress-inducing ‘always on’ work culture. There are increasingly blurred boundaries between the personal and professional. However, the increased demands that are placed on journalists everyday are not rewarded with increased pay or security. In fact, the opposite is true, with redundancies, restructuring and closures commonplace. Through all of this, journalists are expected to continue to report as dispassionate, neutral observers. This leaves journalists with very little capacity to process their stress or their psychological and emotional responses to their work or to their working lives (Huxford & Hopper, 2020).
At the same time that journalists are facing challenges to their own mental health, there is evidence to suggest that mental illness is also a very challenging topic for journalists to cover.
According to previous research conducted for Shine, schizophrenia, psychosis and other mental disorders were not treated as important topics that required coverage (2019:25). The StigmaWatch programme in Australia also found that schizophrenia is often represented in an inaccurate, sensationalised way and linked to violence, while depression is far more likely to be reported responsibly and positively, with other conditions receiving little or no coverage (2013: 10).
When reporting on mental illness, a key challenge that Irish journalists face is ‘a limited understanding of mental illness. Understanding the complexities of mental illness, maintaining an awareness of information relevant to the story, the emotional nature of the subject matter and the stigma attached to it, all made mental illness harder to cover’ (Headline, 2019:25).
The current research on mental health and journalism has two aims. The first aim is to understand the current status of mental wellness amongst Irish journalists, when studies in the UK and across Europe document a severe mental health crisis (Deuze 2025; Spilspbury, 2018; Posetti, Bel & Brown, 2020; Selva & Feinstein, 2020).
The second aim of the research is to understand why journalists still struggle to report on mental illness and explore what supports or training could better equip them to report on this topic.
We are keen to have as many journalists as possible respond to the survey, available here.
Bibliography
Bossio, D., Bélair-Gagnon, V., Holton, A. E., & Molyneux, L. (2024). The paradox of connection. Chicago: University of Illinois Press.
Deuze, M. (2025). What Makes You Happy also Makes You Sick: Mental Health and Well-being in Media Work. International Journal of Communication 19:501-521.
Headline (2019). ‘Reporting Mental Health & Suicide: Challenges Facing Journalists’ (Report) available at https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/673f286b1a067754c839b7bd/67d980ae2133bc2ed059347b_Reporting-Mental-Health-and-Suicide-Challenges-Facing-Journalists.pdf
Huxford, J. E., & Hopper, K. M. (2020). Reporting with emotion: A comparison of journalists’ engagement in emotional labour across media types. Journal of Applied Journalism & Media Studies, 9(1), 39–60. doi:10.1386/ajms_00010_1
Posetti, J., Bell, E., & Brown, P. (2020). Journalism & the pandemic: A global snapshot of impacts. ICFJ/Tow Center for Digital Journalism. Available at https://www.icfj.org/our-work/journalismand-pandemic-survey
Selva, M., & Feinstein, A. (2020, July 17). COVID-19 is hurting journalists’ mental health. Available at https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/covid-19-hurting-journalists-mental-health-newsoutlets-should-help-them-now
