Headlines Network Launches Resources to Help Journalists, Newsrooms Cope with Burnout

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Hannah Storm
Founder and Co-Director of Headlines Network

Headlines Network, an organization devoted to improving mental health in the media and communications industries, has launched “Burnout in Journalism: A Guide for Journalists and Newsrooms”, a set of printed and multi-media resources for journalists, newsrooms and media managers to help them recognize burnout in journalism, mitigate against it and support those affected.

Produced with support from the Google News Initiative (GNI) and in association with Mind, a mental health charity based in the United Kingdom, the guide launched on September 28, 2023, explains what burnout is and warning signs and symptoms for recognizing it, describes its potential negative impact on journalists as individuals, on the media and newsrooms as well as on journalism and offer tips and insights on how to mitigate against it, with practical solutions for support.

According to Headlines Network, burnout is a term used to describe a collection of experiences caused by long-term, unmanageable stress at work. Left untreated, it can affect health and impact work performance and people have different experiences of burnout; and may feel exhausted, overwhelmed or unmotivated and may also start to feel distant from, or negative about work, and may worry that we’re not achieving enough.

Headlines Network said while announcing the launch of the publication that “Burnout is a major issue for our industry and one that impacts not only journalists, but journalism itself. In recent years, we’ve seen increasing cases of individuals leaving the industry, forced to take sick leave for the mental health, or unable to work effectively because of unsustainable levels of stress.  At Headlines Network, we hear frequently from colleagues about the levels of overwhelm and exhaustion they are feeling, and we have responded by producing a set of practical resources around burnout.”

The resources include a series of videos and an illustrated document.

The organization expressed the hope that the resources would help people mitigate against burnout, recognise it, and respond as well as help leaders to support themselves and their colleagues.

It said:  “We know that where we take seriously the wellbeing of journalists, we take seriously the wellbeing of our industry.”