Moral Distress and Injury in American Journalism

Key points

Journalists can face moral distress related to witnessing harm or doing work that conflicts with their values.

Institutional betrayal and profit-driven ownership further contribute to moral injury.

Covering human rights violations and crises can lead to trauma, helplessness, and lasting psychological harm.

Misinformation and pressure to avoid “offending” the powerful deepens moral distress and undermines democracy.

In a small newsroom, an editor-in-chief watches helplessly as their paper is gutted by a hedge fund’s cost- cutting . A reporter covering the migration crisis finds herself haunted by the suffering she witnesses, feelings of helplessness, and the way her friends and family ignore the problem. In newsrooms across the U.S., journalists struggle with the mandate t