Journalists’ Occupational Stress: A Comparative Study between Reporting Critical Events and Domestic News

Abstract

Nowadays, journalism is considered a stressful occupation, not only due to the stress perceived in journalists' daily work but also due to the critical, potentially traumatic events they report. However, research on journalists' occupational stress in both these professional settings is still scarce. This study aims to characterize and compare occupational stress variables perceived by journalists in their daily work and in critical scenarios. Taking the Holistic Model of Occupational Stress by Nelson and Simmons (2003) as a framework, 25 Portuguese journalists, all with experience in reporting critical events, were interviewed on their perceptions of some core variables of the model: occupational stressors, distress and eustress emotional reactions, and the consequences of these experiences on their well-being. Differences among these core variables, according to the number of deployments to a critical event, were statistically analysed in order to ascertain whether repeated exposure to trauma influenced journalists' occupational stress perceptions. The data content analysis showed that occupational stressors and emotional reactions differed across settings, while the consequences associated with journalists' experiences were perceived as being mainly negative in both occupational contexts. Significant differences were identified in some of these variables according to the number of deployments to a critical event (p < .05). These findings may contribute to a reflection on the role of media organizations in preparing and supporting journalists in their work performance, and on the promotion of occupational health within the scope of journalists' daily work and critical events. The article closes with considerations for future studies.

Stres Kerja: Penyebab, Dampak dan Strategi Mengatasinya (Studi Kasus Jurnalis Media Daring Rubrik Kriminal)

“…Stresor organisasional merupakan stresor yang berasal dari hubungan individu dengan lingkungan pekerjaan, seperti tuntutan profesi, masalah interpersonal, lingkungan kerja (fisik), kebijakan perusahaan, kondisi kerja. Sedangkan stresor terkait tugas merupakan sumber stres yang berasal dari kendala kerja seharihari yang dihadapi oleh jurnalis (Monteiro & Marques-Pinto, 2017).…”

“…Sementara untuk penggunaan problem-focused coping tergantung pada bagaimana persepsi jurnalis menilai masalah yang dihadapinya, seperti mampu atau tidaknya individu tersebut mengatasi masalah yang ada. Jika dirasa mampu, maka ia akan mengonfrontasi permasalahan tersebut dan mencari solusinya (Monteiro & Marques Pinto, 2017).…”

“…Penelitian ini memilih stres kerja sebagai variabel untuk menggambarkan pentingnya permasalahan tersebut di kehidupan sehari-hari manusia. Banyak penelitian yang membahas stres kerja pada jurnalis secara umum (Browne, Evangeli, & Greenberg, 2012;Monteiro, Pinto, & Roberto, 2015;Monteiro, & Marques-Pinto, 2017). Namun, masih terbatas penelitian yang mengulas tentang stres kerja secara spesifik pada jurnalis media daring terutama rubrik kriminal.…”

Making sense of Harvey: An exploration of how journalists find meaning in disaster

“…A semistructured interview process was used because it facilitates participants’ willingness to share viewpoints and experiences (Monteiro & Marques-Pinto, 2017), as well as allows the researcher to probe interesting and important aspects of the narratives as they arise, which is important in the study of sense-making and meaning (J. A. Smith & Osborn, 2008).…”

“…Focusing on the emotional process of an event like this enables a person to explain the emotion and create some distance between themselves and that emotion as well (Enosh & Buchbinder, 2005). This seems especially important in a profession such as journalism where emotional reactions are discouraged (Monteiro & Marques-Pinto, 2017). By focusing on the magnitude of the event and their exposure to the aftermath, the journalists in this study could justify the emotional reactions they had been socialized to keep in check.…”