How Journalists Cope with News Work’s Stresses While Remaining Creative Amid the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Phenomenological Study

Abstract

ABSTRACTWork stress is a double-edged sword to creativity. Some analysts call stress a creativity killer while others describe it as a creativity driver. Journalists face a myriad of daily work stresses that forces them to establish a coping mechanism that could evolve over time. The Covid-19 pandemic is a new problem in itself and has also brought new challenges to the daily work stresses of journalists. This phenomenological study, anchored on the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping, had explored the changes in 13 Filipino journalists’ work stresses and coping mechanisms and how these developments affected their creative processes during the Covid-19 pandemic. The study yielded six themes that described the changes in journalists’ work stressors and their coping mechanisms, as well as the reasons behind their attempt to remain creative despite the stressful nature of the profession. The study also puts forward a definition of daily work stress in journalism and establishes an inventory of identified work stresses under the “new normal.” Study findings will help newsrooms adopt and implement necessary measures that would ease their employees’ negative stressors, while improving the work environment to induce creativity through positive stressors.