The relevance of research is due to the need to study the characteristics of professional stress of mass media workers in 2022 in connection with work in a tense geopolitical situation. The purpose is to identify the key stress factors for the regional mass media journalists (on the basis of the Penza and Rostov regions). The leading method is the anonymous survey “Stress in the profession of a journalist”. It turned out that journalists, on average, assess the level of stress in their profession at 6.75 points out of 10, the journalists (91 % of surveyed), regardless of age, rate the workload as high or very high. The topics that cause the most stress for journalists are the special military operation in Ukraine, politics, crime and accidents, social aspects – tragedies: conversations with the families of the dead and injured (especially children), IDPs, as well as housing and communal services, health. The process of working in the mass media also seems stressful due to multitasking and tight deadlines for submission of materials, emotionally difficult communication with the heroes of complex topics. The organization of work in the editorial office in some cases also becomes a stress factor for journalists: 15 % of respondents noted that relations in the team in 2022 became more tense and called management in their editorial office ineffective. The current situation dictates the need for a comprehensive study on the problem of journalistic stress, including in the regional aspect, so in the future you can study the recommendations of psychologists, which are regularly given in professional media (“Journalist” magazine and on the portal “Sdelano.Media”). The results of research are used in the classes on the psychology of mass communications (media psychology) for students-journalists (bachelor’s degree).

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