A day to reflect on mental health

Today is World Mental Health Day, as designated by the World Federation for Mental Health and the World Health Organization to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world and mobilize support for those affected.

As such, today is a good day to point to our newly updated Mental Health Resources Guide, which we first published in 2023. Since then, our profession has gotten no easier: Journalists are facing just as many — if not more — of the mental health challenges we outlined back then. They’re covering social tension and political violence, face threats and harassment both online and in person, and contend with mistrust from the public.

We organized the guide by category, with the aim of making it easier for you to easily navigate to whatever challenge you might be exploring, including trauma, moral injury and burnout.

Journalist and media consultant Hannah Storm, whose work is featured in our guide, wrote last week that she finds solace through running, partly because the “protracted” crises our industry faces can feel like the long and sometimes seemingly endless journey of a marathon. She offers seven solutions for coping with significant challenges. 

One key to coping is recognizing that you’re not alone. The abundance of resources available to journalists is a positive development: It shows a willingness on the part of many in the industry and its support organizations to address the problem — and the role of its leaders in helping people prevent and manage mental health challenges.

News In Focus
Headlines, resources and events aligned with API’s four areas of focus.

Civic Discourse & Democracy

>> Greetings from DC: API’s final local news summit of the year is underway

We’ve gathered news organizations and thought leaders from around the country to explore how local news organizations can create more on-ramps for community members to become journalists or contribute to local civic health in other ways. We are thankful to program sponsors Syracuse University Institute for Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship, Subtext, Influencer Journalism and the MDDC Press Association.

>> State policymakers work to bolster local newsrooms (The Laconia Daily Sun) 

Megan Rogers from the Granite State News Collaborative reports that legislatures in several states are taking action, or considering it, to address the decline in local news. Some of the solutions include publicly funded grants, fellowship programs or employment-based tax credits, she writes.

—

Culture & Inclusion

>> What eating disorder experts want journalists to know about GLP-1s (Association of Health Care Journalists)

There’s more room for journalists to write about the relationship of GLP-1s and their influence on people who “have, are in recovery from or are susceptible to eating disorders,” writes Anna Medaris. She provides journalists with some key takeaways from a recent panel on the issue.

—

Community Engagement & Trust

>> Pope urges news agencies to stand as bulwark against lies, manipulation and post-truths (Associated Press) 

Pope Leo XIV has urged journalists to serve as a barrier against those who use “the ancient art of lying” to create division, writes Nicole Winfield. “You can also be a bulwark of civility against the quicksand of approximation and post-truth,” the pope said.

>> This newsroom is looking for its next big tip on the train (Streetsblog USA)

ProPublica recently launched a new ad campaign on Washington Metro trains in which it encourages people to use its anonymous encrypted Signal app to leak stories to its investigative reporters, writes Kea Wilson.

—

Revenue & Resilience

>> Cost savings become ‘primary concern’ in station scheduling decisions (Current)

The loss of federal funding means public radio station leaders are “ending more expensive programs, seeking efficiencies and opting for more free and inexpensive programs to put on air,” write Tyler Falk and Francisco Rodriguez.

>> Nonprofit local news is growing, but the revenue mix remains unbalanced, according to a new INN report (Media Nation) 

Dan Kennedy dissects the Institute for Nonprofit News’ new 2025 Index. He says an encouraging finding is that the mission of nonprofit news organizations “has moved increasingly toward reporting on a wide range of issues.”

—

What else you need to know

🛡️ Judge rules feds can’t pepper-spray, tear-gas journalists after Block Club Chicago and others sue (Block Club Chicago)

👀 Illinois Press Association CEO resigns after dispute over ICE lawsuit (Medill Local News Initiative)

🪧 Los Angeles Times journalists authorize a strike (The Hollywood Reporter)

🔏 Pentagon charges ahead with press restrictions ‘designed to stifle a free press,’ media orgs say (CNN)

—

Weekend reads

+ Podcast: How to cover science under Trump (Undark)

+ I joined up with News Creator Corps by putting two and two together … Allow me to explain. (Jay Rosen, News Creator Corps)

+ Journalism has become more challenging, for reporters and sources (Sentient)

+ Cuomo deepfaked himself. You can too. (CJR)