Newsrooms called to up their commitment on mental wellbeing

UK and Irish newsrooms are being called to sign up to a new mental health and wellbeing charter.

A charter is a formal statement that outlines an organisation's rights, aims, or values.

Leona O'Neill, an experienced journalist and lecturer at Ulster University in Northern Ireland, is launching the The MediaStrong Newsroom Wellbeing Charter to ask news organisations to increase their commitment to mental health.

Though this is a legally non-binding commitment, it signals to employees that mental health is being treated seriously within newsrooms.

Implementation is open to interpretation, but suggested outlines have been provided:

"Culture and mindset change is the most important aspect of this charter," says O'Neill.

Mental health still a taboo in some quarters

She says that some of the early adopters have printed out the document and placed it in the newsroom. The impact of a visible, cultural commitment should not be underestimated.

Some newsrooms already had the groundwork in place and signed the charter without much convincing. Smaller news organisations have found they need to take some time to assess and prepare before committing.

Others have rejected the proposal, suggesting that journalists should not be 'snowflakes' and 'go do another job' if they are not cut out for it.

"That (attitude) tends to come from a fear of not wanting to admit that this is a job that can damage you if you do not deal with your trauma exposure and nervous system dysregulation," says O'Neill.

In a busy, deadline-orientated, fast-paced newsroom, it is easy for mental health to slip down the priority list. The charter ensures mental health remains a top priority and those who raise the flag on mental health will be taken seriously.

Sturggling in silence

O'Neill experienced PTSD when she witnessed the murder of fellow Northern Irish journalist Lyra McKee, who was shot while covering riots in the Creggan estate in Derry in 2019. It has been a long road to recovery for O'Neill.

• Read more: 'Traumatic stories chip away at our mental health' - Leona O'Neill

But, in truth, her mental health journey started long before this shocking moment. She just did not know it yet.

She recalls feeling sick because of stories she had covered as a journalist. One was a story of a widow whose husband was strapped into a van with explosives by the IRA. Not all the details of that interview made it to print and she remembers needing to pull her car over on the way home. But she brushed herself down and got on with her job.

There are many instances of court stories, too, where she remembers feeling "shaken" by the details that emerged from the cases. It is only now that she understands what she had experienced in her former years.

"I now know it was a build-up of trauma and all the horrible stories I have covered over the years. I have covered the worst stories of humanity," she explains.

Many journalists do not recognise the harsh consequences of trauma exposure until much later in their careers. O'Neill quotes her colleague James Scurry, a senior producer at Sky News, who often describes journalism as "radioactive" - and the longer spent in a newsroom without the proper gear and aftercare, the longer journalists are exposed to the radiation.

• Read more: 'My colleagues helped me through the hardest story of my career' - James Scurry

Irish News editor Chris Sherrard was among the first to sign the new charter. He said in a press release that journalists are routinely exposed to distressing and traumatic stories, but it is hard to formalise consistent support structures. He adds that the suggested framework is an easy starting point for newsrooms.

The MediaStrong Newsroom Wellbeing Charter will be formally launched at Stormont (Northern Ireland) on 4 June, and then at Westminster (England) in July and in Leinster House (Ireland) in September - the latter two dates to be confirmed.

Mediastrong is also hosting a free mental health in journalism conference in London on 2 July 2025

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