‘I lost a love for journalism’: breaking news reporters navigate burnout amid today’s ‘information overload’
When Twitter was first on the rise, Talia Ricci recalls how hectic it was to live tweet while filing on deadline.
Ricci, a journalist at CBC News Toronto, remembers when Twitter, now X, was emerging as a new journalistic tool when she was working for Global News Winnipeg over a decade ago. The push to engage with audiences on social media was a shift that she initially found staggering. “I remember finding that a bit overwhelming because it felt like I was doing my reporting job twice, once on Twitter and then once when filing my story,” Ricci says. “I would see my colleagues live-tweeting a court case or what was happening in the city, and I was trying to keep up while also taking in the information.”
With breaking news just a click away, many reporters struggle to balance their creative and mental well-being against what studies call “information overload.” The rise of demand for multimedia journalism, the expectation of multi-skilling, and the need for unwavering flexibility in the newsroom mean journalists are left to manage new tasks on top of their daily workload.
While the post-pandemic digital landscape intensified with destabilized political discourse, distrust in the media, and concerns over online misinformation, Ricci’s relationship with X became strained. “I determined that it wasn’t something that was adding anything positive to my life or my role as a journalist.”
Ricci deleted her X account entirely, a decision that contradicts modern journalism’s demands. “After the pandemic, I found it was not bringing me joy,” she says. Ricci needed to draw a line and decided to rely on Instagram and face-to-face interactions to develop her stories.
The Digital Grind
When she worked as a breaking news reporter, Simran Singh, now a self-employed UX (user experience) designer, was always “on.” If she came across a breaking news story, a social media post, or a notification, she shared it, either online or with another reporter on shift—even when she wasn’t working. “I’d say that by virtue of social media, you would get notifications every minute, and every minute counts.”
When working for the Toronto Star, Singh was once reporting on a teenager’s death. With only a nickname on file and a tight deadline, the story was published without confirming the teen’s name. Singh received an emotional call from the family expressing their discontent with the misidentification of their loved one. “That taught me a big lesson on what it meant to value a person’s story and their life, no matter what you’re reporting on and your deadline.”
A 2024 survey by Digital Content Next found that 96 percent of journalists struggle to “switch off” after work, with journalism’s pervasive “always on” and “suck it up” cultures being contributing factors. Singh says news has never been more accessible yet so difficult to keep up with than it is now. As a working journalist, she was expected to stay up to date, create new content on a revolving basis, meet deadlines, and hit quotas for online posts and videos.
Research from the Poynter Institute and Nieman Lab indicates that the increasing demand for multimedia journalism and multi-skilling is pushing journalists to a tipping point. Shrinking resources, a lack of work-life balance, and increased stress from being perpetually online take a toll on their passion for the field. The Missouri School of Journalism found that 80 percent of reporters experience burnout, and 91 percent have seen colleagues struggle with it. “I hate to say it, but I lost a love for journalism,” Singh says, “and I regret sounding so pessimistic.”
For Ricci, the combination of heavy workloads, tight deadlines, and multimedia journalism makes the work suffer. She says that at a time when there’s persistent distrust in the media, mistakes and poorly done journalism only worsen the industry’s credibility.
Digital Isn’t Always Damaging
Ricci says she’s never seen outlets prioritize mental health the way they are now, citing CBC’s quick response to providing her professional support after she covered the 2022 mass shooting in Buffalo. She attempts to be a positive voice for student journalists faced with negativity concerning the industry. She hopes new journalists entering the workforce will experience a shift that lessens their loads and better organizes their newsrooms.
Despite varying challenges at the beginning of her journalistic career, Ricci now sees the benefits of digital immersion in her ability to report and become a multifaceted journalist. “I try to be intentional about how I use my time before and after work,” she says. “I love this job. It’s the best job on the planet. I get to go out, meet new people, learn new things, and tell people about it.”
Though Singh faced challenging experiences as a journalist, she says, “I never want those sentiments to take away the love for journalism, because it is such a rewarding career.”
