‘The Perfect Storm: The Impact of COVID-19 on British Journalists’

O'Reilly, Carole; Matthews, Julian

Abstract

This study examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the working lives of British broadcast and online journalists, middle and senior managers. 26 semi-structured interviews were conducted between November 2021 and January 2023 and three themes emerged from these interviews: the challenges of constructing the narrative of COVID-19, the impact of online abuse and misinformation and the lack of access to newsroom spaces and peer support during this period. The contribution to existing literature on the subject centres on the debate about the status of the newsroom in online journalism in particular, strategies to resolve the psychological impact of the pandemic on both reporters and managers and the continuing pressures of the commercial environment which has eroded trust and increased the strains on all who work in the field.

Citation

O'Reilly, C., & Matthews, J. (in press). ‘The Perfect Storm: The Impact of COVID-19 on British Journalists’. In Ecologies of Global Risk Journalism: Conceptualising Local Journalism in an Era of Deep Disruptions. Routledge

• Acceptance Date: Aug 10, 2023
• Deposit Date: Jul 17, 2023
• Publisher: Routledge
• Book Title: Ecologies of Global Risk Journalism: Conceptualising Local Journalism in an Era of Deep Disruptions