By Adam Wakefield
“With the rise of social media platforms such as Twitter, Periscope, Snapchat, Facebook and YouTube, editors expect stories to be filed at a much faster rate than they did before,” she says. “It also makes it harder to focus on various aspects of the story, as one constantly needs to tweet the news as it happens. Thus, important facts often get missed as one is so busy tweeting that the story develops faster than your fingers can type, check and send tweets.”
A snowballing phenomena
As the pace of news has quickened, burnout is no longer the province of old news hacks, as young journalists are leaving the industry in greater numbers for higher paying, less stressful jobs. An
article by Jeremy W. Peters as far back as July, 2010, in the
New York Times touched on this phenomena.
“Such is the state of the media business these days: frantic and fatigued. Young journalists who once dreamed of trotting the globe in pursuit of a story are instead shackled to their computers, where they try to eke out a fresh thought or be first to report even the smallest nugget of news – anything that will impress Google algorithms and draw readers their way,” writes Peters.
Twitter: a blessing and a curse
Stuart Graham, a journalist for German wire service dpa, says
Twitter is helpful to journalists in some respects, but at the same time it has also made life more difficult for journalists.
“I grew up in a family of journalists. In the old days, my father and mother used typewriters. They had to drive all over to collect information. Journalists used to drink and smoke heavily to handle the pressure. Today the pressure is different. It is relentless,” he says. “Information is abundant, but unreliable. You are constantly being compared to your competitors.
Twitter is wonderful for tip-off service, but it has also made life very difficult for journalists. We are being scooped all the time.”
Stress is the enemy of quality work
De Villiers says, pointing to research done at Harvard University, “stress makes people stupid” and as a result, affects the quality of a journalist’s work.
“I have found this to be true. Under extreme pressure it is easier to make mistakes, typos and miss something, if you have to focus on so many different things at once, including the safety of your gear. Especially in South Africa where the crime rate is so high, this really adds a great deal of stress to most stories as the expensive equipment that you use can put you in danger.”
Taking your foot off the accelerator
So how does the modern journalist go about coping with stress?
De Villiers says employers should offer accessible counselling services, and not make it difficult for journalists to get the help they need.
“When I asked to see a counsellor after a difficulty story, I had to send emails explaining why I felt I needed it and then I had to have a session with the editor (who was by no means a trained counsellor) before it would be approved by the company. I found the process humiliating and it showed the total lack of understanding of what journalist go through,” she says.
For Graham, getting regular exercise, experiencing nature, having a beer (but not too many) after work, and spending time with family are all ways he suggests journalists can de-stress from the day-to-day rigours of the job. Having a partner who is also journalist and who understands the industry makes the job that much easier.
Are you a journalist ? Do you feel the stress of the job is taking its toll? Let us know in the comments below.