This is a candidate for the 2025-26 ONA Board of Directors election.
Kristyn Wellesley (she/her) is an award-winning multi-platform journalist with a passion for content strategy and data. Kristyn is currently the Senior Editor – Audience Development and Engagement for MediaNews Group/Tribune Publishing helping newsrooms connect and engage with audiences, focusing on building trust in local news and engaging historically marginalized communities. Having previously covering national tragic events, Kristyn also passionately advocates for the importance of prioritizing mental health in newsrooms and providing journalists the resources they need.
Kristyn’s vision for the future of digital journalism
Journalists have so many things thrown at them daily – breaking news and deadlines, not being the least – that it is important to prioritize our mental health, because the challenges we face are unlike any other profession.
On any day, a journalist risks being doxxed. We are screamed at or told we are evil liars. We face a stream of social media comments and emails from people personally attacking us because of the story we wrote yesterday. We are sent to cover a mass shooting where we talk to kids who still have blood on their shoes after they were just evacuated from their school, or we have to watch the footage of it being streamed on TikTok over and over.
And this could just be the notable days because every day presents a new challenge that could put a strain on a journalist’s mental health.
Newsrooms of all sizes must have resources in place to help journalists deal with vicarious trauma and other sources of stress. Large or small, global newsrooms or non-profits, it impacts every news site and leaders need to care for their staff and make resources available. There are several resources available and newsrooms need to make it a priority to have plans in place to make those resources known and available to help their staff when the really bad days inevitably happen.