{"id":2502,"date":"2024-01-09T13:00:50","date_gmt":"2024-01-09T13:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2024\/01\/09\/compassion-fatigue-emathy-journalism\/"},"modified":"2024-10-18T16:56:57","modified_gmt":"2024-10-18T16:56:57","slug":"compassion-fatigue-emathy-journalism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2024\/01\/09\/compassion-fatigue-emathy-journalism\/","title":{"rendered":"When journalism is a defense against despair"},"content":{"rendered":"    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">Most of my holiday cards to people as 2023 ended came to a close were signed with this wish:&nbsp;<em>Here\u2019s to a hopeful 2024.<\/em><\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>Five days in, that hopefulness was been mightily challenged. A&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/perry-high-school-shooting-iowa-1defc6260e074362240a31a7f30cf1b9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">shooting at a public school<\/a>&nbsp;in a small town in Iowa left a sixth-grader dead and five other people wounded: the shooter was a 17-year-old who also died, apparently of a self-inflicted gunshot.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/harvard-president-plagiarism-claudine-gay-3b048da1f2ee17b5edec3680b5828e8f\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Claudine Gay resigned<\/a>&nbsp;after barely six months as president of Harvard University \u2014 she was the first Black person to hold that position; she step stepped down amid allegations of plagiarism and criticism of her handling of anti-Israeli protests on campus, but many see attacks against her as a broader attack on higher education. Then New York Times unspooled the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/01\/04\/us\/politics\/trump-endorsements.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sophisticated machine driving Republican Party loyalty<\/a>&nbsp;to former President Donald J. Trump; inside sources say he boasted that political candidates \u201ckissed my ass\u201d when they came to seek his favor, and that \u201cThey always take a knee.\u201d You may interpret the last item as my disdain for Trump-style politics, but I mean as disgust for his crass disrespect for others and for the democracy he purports to represent.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>All this came on the eve of the third anniversary of the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol \u2014 a catastrophic event that continues to be debated in the lowest divebars to the highest courts in the land. There\u2019s Russian President Vladimir Putin\u2019s push to bend history \u2014 and Ukraine \u2014 to suit his whims, the rising death toll in Gaza, renewed civil war in South Sudan and the desperate migrants amassing at the U.S.-Mexico border.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>I\u2019m a avid news reader. It would not be difficult, on any given day, to find even more to bum you out. The daily news seems more often a dirge than a round-up of human possibility. I understand the instinct to tune out \u2014 something even some of my closest friends have done. Psychologist Adam Grant wrote about that recently in an essay for The New York Times, naming that feeling of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/01\/01\/opinion\/israel-war-empathy-pain.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">existential numbness as \u201cempathic distress<\/a>: hurting for others while feeling unable to help.\u201d From his essay:<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-quote mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>Empathic distress explains why many people have checked out in the wake of these tragedies. The small gestures they could make seem like an exercise in futility. Giving to charity feels like a drop in the ocean. Posting on social media is poking a hornet\u2019s nest. Having concluded that nothing they do will make a difference, they start to become indifferent.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>My short, non-expert summary of that: People give up hope. Nothing they can do to stop the pain or fix the mess, so why bother to try?<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-heading   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Journalism as a beacon<\/h2>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>Oddly, in the midst of this, I turn to journalism as my touchstone of hope \u2014 or perhaps more accurately, my defense against hopelessness. Yes, I can grow disheartened by the content of all those stories I cite above. But that is outshone by the fact that I can read those stories \u2014 that reporters and editors are at work on behalf of my right and need to know. They also bring me less fraught distractions each day, from puzzles to recipes to daily updates on the miracle of a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kuow.org\/stories\/orca-update-it-s-a-boy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">baby orca born to an endangered pod in the Puget Sound<\/a>. (Said babe, by the way, is a boy, named J60 by whale researchers. I expect more romantic names to come soon.)<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>I have preached on this belief before \u2014 the imperative of independent journalism that bears witness to reality, to the worst and best of the human journey. Not everyone is suited to that work, any more than everyone is suited to the work of an ER surgeon or a social worker or public middle school teacher. Those can be burn-out jobs. The problems seems endless; progress seems elusive.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>This is where I dip back into the essay by Grant, the psychologist. He makes a distinction between empathic distress and productive compassion:<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-quote mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>\u2026 a growing body of evidence suggests that compassion is&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/psycnet.apa.org\/record\/2023-72671-001\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">healthier for you<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/psycnet.apa.org\/record\/2016-46141-001\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">kinder to others<\/a>&nbsp;than empathy: When you see others in pain, instead of causing you to get overloaded and retreat, compassion motivates you to reach out and help.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>This counters how I\u2019ve long understood empathy vs compassion. Grant\u2019s essay points out that the accepted understanding of \u201ccompassion fatigue\u201d is a misnomer. In short, according to his piece: Empathy takes on and wears the pain of others \u2014 and can be worn down by it; compassion acknowledges the pain of others and sits with it \u2014 offers help, even if it\u2019s simply through presence:<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-quote mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>What drains people is not merely witnessing others\u2019 pain but feeling incapable of alleviating it. In times of sustained anguish, empathy is a recipe for more distress, and in some cases even&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/full\/10.1002\/pchj.482\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">depression<\/a>. What we need instead is compassion.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>Although they\u2019re often used interchangeably, empathy and compassion&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/psycnet.apa.org\/record\/2016-46141-001\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">aren\u2019t the same<\/a>. Empathy absorbs others\u2019 emotions as your own: \u201cI\u2019m hurting for you.\u201d Compassion focuses your action on&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/psycnet.apa.org\/record\/2016-46141-001\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">their emotions<\/a>: \u201cI see that you\u2019re hurting, and I\u2019m here for you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>This is a reframe for me. Or maybe I\u2019m conflating Grant\u2019s definition of empathy with my understanding of self-absorbed sympathy. Language is malleable, but precision is important. So this will send me back to other explorations: Leslie Jamison\u2019s fine books of essays,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.graywolfpress.org\/books\/empathy-exams\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u201cThe Empathy Exams;\u201d<\/a>&nbsp;a revelatory 2017 New Yorker piece by Pulitzer-winning author Siddhartha Mukheriee about&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/culture\/cultural-comment\/love-in-the-time-of-numbness-or-doctor-chekhov-writer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Chekhov\u2019s way of witnessing the world<\/a>&nbsp;without flinching in the face of its pain:<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-quote mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>The gaze is unsparing and penetrating, clear-eyed,&nbsp;clinical\u2014a word used often in association with Chekhov. You cannot see if your eyes are clouded with tears, he seems to tell us: a weeping doctor is a useless doctor. He cuts away the artifice. He cauterizes our indulgences in pity or piety: it is impossible, he reminds us, to feel pity for the self-pitying.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>That\u2019s my rabbit hole to go down, a return, perhaps, to my college philosophy courses; maybe I\u2019m ready to understand them a bit better. No need for you to go with me.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>What I do hope you consider \u2014 embrace \u2014 is the need to remain hopeful in your jobs as the world\u2019s witnesses and storytellers.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-heading   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Refusing to surrender<\/h2>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>Five days into a new year, I could be disheartened by the run of dark news. I could despair that all we have to offer as journalists are stories, and those too often seem to wisp into the ether without making a knowable difference. I have wrestled with my own crises of confidence over the value of this work.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>Then I would have the privilege of sitting with someone who wants their story told. Who&nbsp;<em>needs<\/em>&nbsp;their story told. I can\u2019t promise what will come of that. But the sitting and the telling are what we do, and I believe that matters.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>I started this unintended riff with a mention of my holiday cards. Yesterday I received one from a writer I know \u2014 a serendipitous gift I will tuck in the notebook I always carry. It quoted&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.jasonwritesbooks.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">novelist and poet Jason Reynolds<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-quote mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>Stories are the most human things we have to offer.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>Just one of the gifts of a life in journalism is that it gives us something to&nbsp;<em>do&nbsp;<\/em>in the face of pain. We look without flinching at what\u2019s happening. We listen. We verify. We inform. We educate. Sometimes we entertain. We do all this by telling stories \u2014&nbsp;<em>true<\/em>&nbsp;stories.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>And those stories, no matter the content, are acts of compassion.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The editor ponders the role journalism plays in delivering hard news while also representing the best hopes of democracy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"topics":[],"authors":[3],"issue":[],"class_list":["post-2502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-from-the-editor","authors-jacqui-banaszynski"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>When journalism is a defense against despair - Nieman Storyboard<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2024\/01\/09\/compassion-fatigue-emathy-journalism\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"When journalism is a defense against despair - Nieman Storyboard\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The editor ponders the role journalism plays in delivering hard news while also representing the best hopes of democracy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2024\/01\/09\/compassion-fatigue-emathy-journalism\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nieman Storyboard\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-01-09T13:00:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-10-18T16:56:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/02\/nick-fewings-ioNNsLBO8hE-unsplash-scaled-e1704771458750.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"750\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"commonmedia\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"commonmedia\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/09\\\/compassion-fatigue-emathy-journalism\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/09\\\/compassion-fatigue-emathy-journalism\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"commonmedia\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ad131fac9b2e8136d6171c8575cfc226\"},\"headline\":\"When journalism is a defense against despair\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-01-09T13:00:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-10-18T16:56:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/09\\\/compassion-fatigue-emathy-journalism\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1299,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/09\\\/compassion-fatigue-emathy-journalism\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/app\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/nick-fewings-ioNNsLBO8hE-unsplash-scaled-e1704771458750.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"From the Editor\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/09\\\/compassion-fatigue-emathy-journalism\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/09\\\/compassion-fatigue-emathy-journalism\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/09\\\/compassion-fatigue-emathy-journalism\\\/\",\"name\":\"When journalism is a defense against despair - Nieman Storyboard\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/09\\\/compassion-fatigue-emathy-journalism\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/09\\\/compassion-fatigue-emathy-journalism\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/app\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/nick-fewings-ioNNsLBO8hE-unsplash-scaled-e1704771458750.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-01-09T13:00:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-10-18T16:56:57+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/09\\\/compassion-fatigue-emathy-journalism\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/09\\\/compassion-fatigue-emathy-journalism\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/09\\\/compassion-fatigue-emathy-journalism\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/app\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/nick-fewings-ioNNsLBO8hE-unsplash-scaled-e1704771458750.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/app\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/nick-fewings-ioNNsLBO8hE-unsplash-scaled-e1704771458750.jpg\",\"width\":750,\"height\":500,\"caption\":\"Nick Fewings via Unsplash\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/09\\\/compassion-fatigue-emathy-journalism\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"When journalism is a defense against despair\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/\",\"name\":\"Nieman Storyboard\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Nieman Storyboard\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/app\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/NiemanKOLogo.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/app\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/NiemanKOLogo.svg\",\"width\":1,\"height\":1,\"caption\":\"Nieman Storyboard\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ad131fac9b2e8136d6171c8575cfc226\",\"name\":\"commonmedia\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/7a67dac1d5145031a5e3f8bcb411f86c4aed5a7ebe4244392196080637ed18af?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/7a67dac1d5145031a5e3f8bcb411f86c4aed5a7ebe4244392196080637ed18af?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/7a67dac1d5145031a5e3f8bcb411f86c4aed5a7ebe4244392196080637ed18af?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"commonmedia\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/wp\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/niemanstoryboard.org\\\/author\\\/commonmedia\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"When journalism is a defense against despair - Nieman Storyboard","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2024\/01\/09\/compassion-fatigue-emathy-journalism\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"When journalism is a defense against despair - Nieman Storyboard","og_description":"The editor ponders the role journalism plays in delivering hard news while also representing the best hopes of democracy","og_url":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2024\/01\/09\/compassion-fatigue-emathy-journalism\/","og_site_name":"Nieman Storyboard","article_published_time":"2024-01-09T13:00:50+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-10-18T16:56:57+00:00","og_image":[{"width":750,"height":500,"url":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/02\/nick-fewings-ioNNsLBO8hE-unsplash-scaled-e1704771458750.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"commonmedia","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"commonmedia","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2024\/01\/09\/compassion-fatigue-emathy-journalism\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2024\/01\/09\/compassion-fatigue-emathy-journalism\/"},"author":{"name":"commonmedia","@id":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/#\/schema\/person\/ad131fac9b2e8136d6171c8575cfc226"},"headline":"When journalism is a defense against despair","datePublished":"2024-01-09T13:00:50+00:00","dateModified":"2024-10-18T16:56:57+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2024\/01\/09\/compassion-fatigue-emathy-journalism\/"},"wordCount":1299,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2024\/01\/09\/compassion-fatigue-emathy-journalism\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/02\/nick-fewings-ioNNsLBO8hE-unsplash-scaled-e1704771458750.jpg","articleSection":["From the Editor"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2024\/01\/09\/compassion-fatigue-emathy-journalism\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2024\/01\/09\/compassion-fatigue-emathy-journalism\/","url":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2024\/01\/09\/compassion-fatigue-emathy-journalism\/","name":"When journalism is a defense against despair - Nieman Storyboard","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2024\/01\/09\/compassion-fatigue-emathy-journalism\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2024\/01\/09\/compassion-fatigue-emathy-journalism\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/02\/nick-fewings-ioNNsLBO8hE-unsplash-scaled-e1704771458750.jpg","datePublished":"2024-01-09T13:00:50+00:00","dateModified":"2024-10-18T16:56:57+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2024\/01\/09\/compassion-fatigue-emathy-journalism\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2024\/01\/09\/compassion-fatigue-emathy-journalism\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2024\/01\/09\/compassion-fatigue-emathy-journalism\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/02\/nick-fewings-ioNNsLBO8hE-unsplash-scaled-e1704771458750.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/02\/nick-fewings-ioNNsLBO8hE-unsplash-scaled-e1704771458750.jpg","width":750,"height":500,"caption":"Nick Fewings via Unsplash"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2024\/01\/09\/compassion-fatigue-emathy-journalism\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"When journalism is a defense against despair"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/","name":"Nieman Storyboard","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/#organization","name":"Nieman Storyboard","url":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/02\/NiemanKOLogo.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/02\/NiemanKOLogo.svg","width":1,"height":1,"caption":"Nieman Storyboard"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/#\/schema\/person\/ad131fac9b2e8136d6171c8575cfc226","name":"commonmedia","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7a67dac1d5145031a5e3f8bcb411f86c4aed5a7ebe4244392196080637ed18af?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7a67dac1d5145031a5e3f8bcb411f86c4aed5a7ebe4244392196080637ed18af?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7a67dac1d5145031a5e3f8bcb411f86c4aed5a7ebe4244392196080637ed18af?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"commonmedia"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/wp"],"url":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/author\/commonmedia\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2502"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2502\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11958,"href":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2502\/revisions\/11958"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2502"},{"taxonomy":"topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topics?post=2502"},{"taxonomy":"authors","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/authors?post=2502"},{"taxonomy":"issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue?post=2502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}