| Summary: | The COVID-19 pandemic exposed journalists to multiple risks as they covered how the novel coronavirus affected people’s lives and ways of living across the globe. Besides obvious physical and health risks, mental health issues came to the fore among working journalists’ biggest professional and occupational concerns. Drawing from quantitative and qualitative data, this chapter discusses how journalists negotiated the impact of COVID-19 coverage on their mental health. Results of a survey and in-depth interviews pointed to at least three sources of mental anxiety among journalists from South and Southeast Asia, especially the Philippines and Malaysia. Most journalists from both countries carefully managed risks primarily because of the fear of contracting the dreaded virus from fieldwork and bringing it to their families back home; most journalists viewed COVID-19 news coverage as challenging as they felt exposed to the pandemic and knew at least one infected colleague. Only 47% said they were given protective gear, and companies sometimes refused to cover the cost of testing. Most journalists also feared their news organisations would experience financial difficulties. The fear was the highest in the Philippines, where several community newspapers folded because of lockdown-induced business losses. Eight out of ten journalists feared the pandemic would cause financial stress within their news organisations. A third source of mental anxiety was the heavier workload brought about by 24/7 pandemic news coverage, whether in-person or virtual. Journalists reported being assigned to multiple virtual news conferences and events as newsrooms compensated for the lack of original or in-depth reporting due to restrictions in news coverage. These challenges are changing the way journalists navigate their new work terrain post-pandemic. © 2025 selection and editorial matter, Ingrid Volkmer, Bruce Mutsvairo, Saba Bebawi, Ansgard Heinrich and Antonio Castillo; individual chapters, the contributors. All rights reserved.
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