When can I get angry?” Journalists’ coping strategies and emotional management in hostile situations

Bibliographic Data

ID7478029
AuthorsSigne Ivask (0000-0001-7106-099X, University of Tartu, Estonia, corresponding author), Lenka Waschková Císařová (0000-0002-3307-0801, Masaryk University, Czech Republic), Angelina Lon (University of Tartu, Estonia)
Year2023
Volume25
Issue10
Pages2099-2116
Publication date2023-08-29
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournalism (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1464-8849 • E-ISSN: 1741-3001
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/14648849231199895
OpenAlexW4386263581
LanguageEN
Citations received19
References cited36

Research shows that emotional management is often part of journalists’ decision-making in the news creation process and when dealing with attacks, insults, or harassment, which we describe by the umbrella term hostility. Some emotional management strategies can lead journalists to self-censorship or to mental health problems when they do not recognise and deal with emotions. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate how journalists react to hostility against them by using emotional coping strategies and emotional management. We carried out 18 semi-structured interviews with news journalists in Estonia from June 2021 to December 2021. The results showed that although hostility is a part of journalists’ everyday work-life, many lack a strategy to deal with it. We can say that there are three types of perceptions and reactions: (1) the thick-skinned journalist who does not see problems with hostility and, therefore, does not take any action against receiving the hostility. (2) The pragmatically conformist journalist who sometimes sees problems with hostility and believes the solution is to grow a thicker skin. (3) The journalist who is not a punching bag and sees a problem in being constantly bombarded by hostility, most of whom seek protection from it or help to fight against it

Harassment · Hostility · Management · Offensive · Perception · Political science · Public relations · Emotional Labor in Professions · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies · Psychology · Public Relations and Crisis Communication · Social Psychology

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Open DOIOpen Access