The Media Resilience Network

At the Media Resilience Network -MDRnet-, we believe that caring for journalists is essential to protecting journalism. Reporters and media workers routinely cover conflict, disasters, migration, political violence, and other crises while carrying the emotional weight of the stories they tell. MDRnet builds trauma-informed, peer-centered support systems that combine research, community care, and practical tools. 

Through regional task forces, workshops, conferences, and peer networks, we meet journalists where they are, when they need support, and in the way they need it. This year in the context of SRCCON 2026 in Minneapolis, we had the privilege of doing exactly that with our two activities, a community gathering and a conference workshop.

We want to thank the SRCCON 2026 organizing team and Open News Board for their organizational grit and awesome energy. An immense recognition to all participants from and in Minneapolis who came to our events and sessions, you were brave and vulnerable in ways we are still processing! These community events could not be possible without the support of Press Forward. Gracias.

Holding Space Together

The day before SRCCON2026 officially began, MDRnet hosted Holding Space Together, a community gathering for journalists, media workers, citizen reporters, and freedom of expression defenders. The timing was intentional. Federal immigration operations in Minnesota had placed enormous pressure on immigrant communities and on the journalists documenting those events. Many journalists in the area are carrying not only the demands of their work but also months or years of accumulated stress, grief, uncertainty, and moral injury. We created space. Not to solve every problem. But to remind journalists that they do not have to carry them alone. 

Participants reflected together on questions including: What emotional weight do you carry from your work? How does your role shape your experience? Where do you feel unsupported? What helps you continue?

These conversations quickly revealed something important. Regardless of geography, newsroom size, employment status, or reporting beat, many journalists were carrying remarkably similar emotional burdens.

One of the most meaningful parts of the gathering invited participants to express their emotional state through color. Each person selected colors representing how they currently felt about their work. Others chose to reflect quietly by creating mandalas instead of speaking immediately.

The goal was emotional literacy.

Too often, journalists move directly from one crisis to the next without pausing to identify what they are carrying. Simply naming emotions can be an important first step toward resilience.

The gathering concluded with an emotion mapping exercise. Looking together, participants noticed that emotions they had assumed were deeply personal fatigue, hope, grief, uncertainty, purpose were shared across the community. During the closing circle, participants reflected on what helps them continue their work and what support they still need.

Several themes emerged repeatedly:

• Trauma is not an individual failure—it is an occupational reality.
• Isolation makes emotional harm worse.
• Community strengthens resilience.
• Caring for journalists is essential to sustaining public-interest journalism.

SRCCON 2026

The next morning at SRCCON, MDRnet Executive Director Luisa Ortiz Perez participated in the conference opening ceremony reflecting on the previous day’s Holding Space Together gathering. She recalled the courage of the journalists and freedom of expression defenders who attended the community circle, named their fears, acknowledged the emotional weight of their work, and shared practical ways to care for themselves and one another. 

Three words emerged as guiding themes: justice—for journalists and the communities they serve; walls—as healthy boundaries that protect while creating space for growth; and love—the foundation of collective care. 

Quoting bell hooks, Luisa reminded participants, "To bring a love ethic to every dimension of our lives, our society would need to embrace change." 

That invitation to lead with love, practice care, and embrace change, especially in difficult times set the stage for a deeper conversation about why journalists continue to stay in a profession defined by both purpose and profound challenges.

Still here, a workshop 

Still Here: Why Journalists Stay in a Profession in Crisis, based on findings from Stay Tuned: A U.S. Journalism Mental Health Survey was a workshop that explored a question many newsrooms are asking: Why do journalists continue to stay in a profession marked by layoffs, burnout, online harassment, shrinking autonomy, and constant disruption?

What emerged was a remarkable display of honesty and vulnerability. Participants spoke about journalism as more than a job, it is identity, purpose, and public service. They also gave voice to something rarely acknowledged: the fear of leaving the profession, of losing a part of themselves even when the work has become unsustainable. Together, they challenged the notion that resilience means simply enduring more hardship. Instead, they affirmed that real resilience is built through stronger systems of care, community, and support not by asking journalists to carry the weight alone.

The conversations didn’t end with personal reflection they became a collective roadmap for what journalism needs to thrive. Working in small groups, participants explored three questions: What makes staying harder? What would make staying easier? Why do we stay?

The answers depicted in the infographics above painted a clear picture of a profession under strain. Participants described shrinking public trust, hostility toward journalists, relentless news cycles, financial insecurity, layoffs, and the rapid pace of technological change, including misinformation and the rise of generative AI. Many also spoke about the quieter burdens: limited opportunities for growth, inadequate support systems, and uncertainty about the future.

Yet when asked what would make staying possible, the conversation shifted from challenges to possibilities. Participants envisioned newsrooms where people have room for life beyond work, where leaders model empathy and accountability, mentorship is valued, and financial stability allows journalists to build sustainable careers. They also emphasized that resilience depends on broader structural changes—from stronger social safety nets and labor protections to media literacy and responsible AI governance.

Perhaps the most moving responses came when participants reflected on why they stay. Despite the pressures, journalists spoke with sincerity about their sense of purpose. They described journalism as a calling rooted in justice, public service, curiosity, and the belief that stories can make a difference. Just as important were the relationships they have built along the way. Colleagues, editors, mentors, and communities remind them that they are part of something larger than themselves. Together, these reflections revealed that while the profession faces profound challenges, its greatest source of resilience continues to be the people committed to its mission and to one another.