Most people think journalists are trained to stay detached, to report the story, and not feel it.
But what happens when the story breaks you?
In this episode we talk with journalist and researcher Louisa Ortiz Pérez, founder of the Media Resilience Network, who launched a groundbreaking survey exploring the emotional toll of journalism during the era of layoffs, audience distrust, and constant crisis coverage.
Louisa reveals what her data shows about:
🧠 Burnout, anxiety, and “moral injury” in the newsroom
💔 How layoffs and social media toxicity are reshaping reporters’ sense of purpose
🎙️ Why many journalists feel silenced, even in organizations built to tell the truth
🌍 And what needs to change to make journalism sustainable again
This conversation is candid, compassionate, and deeply human: a look at what it really means to do the work of journalism when the industry itself is falling apart.
How do we rebuild trust, without breaking the journalists who keep us informed?
00:00 - Start
02:11 - Jenna Remembers the Trauma of Sandy Hook
08:05 - Technology Changed the Game
11:08 - When You Are the Story
14:31 - You Shouldn’t Have to Shrug It Off
17:04 - Journalism Can Make You Sick
18:26 - Put Your Foot Down
22:37 - A Human Condition: A Play About Journalism
25:06 - Take the Veneer Off
27:28 - We Can’t Be Unseen
35:35 - Journalists Need 2 Things to Heal
44:49 - The Algorithm IS NOT Your Friend
48:08 - Only People Not Bots Can Do Journalism
52:29 - PTSD Should Be Recognized
55:15 - Why Did You Become a Journalist?
Media Resilience Network
https://mdrnet.org/
Take the Survey:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdAXBQMP8wgy_ecx2dh4WeqAb3fSUyIh8fndSkZrYBGR22yNg/viewform
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Most people think journalists are trained to stay detached, to report the story, and not feel it.
But what happens when the story breaks you?
In this episode we talk with journalist and researcher Louisa Ortiz Pérez, founder of the Media Resilience Network, who launched a groundbreaking survey exploring the emotional toll of journalism during the era of layoffs, audience distrust, and constant crisis coverage.
Louisa reveals what her data shows about:
🧠 Burnout, anxiety, and “moral injury” in the newsroom
💔 How layoffs and social media toxicity are reshaping reporters’ sense of purpose
🎙️ Why many journalists feel silenced, even in organizations built to tell the truth
🌍 And what needs to change to make journalism sustainable again
This conversation is candid, compassionate, and deeply human: a look at what it really means to do the work of journalism when the industry itself is falling apart.
How do we rebuild trust, without breaking the journalists who keep us informed?
00:00 - Start
02:11 - Jenna Remembers the Trauma of Sandy Hook
08:05 - Technology Changed the Game
11:08 - When You Are the Story
14:31 - You Shouldn’t Have to Shrug It Off
17:04 - Journalism Can Make You Sick
18:26 - Put Your Foot Down
22:37 - A Human Condition: A Play About Journalism
25:06 - Take the Veneer Off
27:28 - We Can’t Be Unseen
35:35 - Journalists Need 2 Things to Heal
44:49 - The Algorithm IS NOT Your Friend
48:08 - Only People Not Bots Can Do Journalism
52:29 - PTSD Should Be Recognized
55:15 - Why Did You Become a Journalist?
Media Resilience Network
https://mdrnet.org/
Take the Survey:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdAXBQMP8wgy_ecx2dh4WeqAb3fSUyIh8fndSkZrYBGR22yNg/viewform
What happens when a journalist interviews a comedian who might secretly understand the media better than most journalists?
In this episode, Paul Saylor, musician, comedian, and runner-up in the New York Queer Comedy Festival, joins Jenna Flanagan and Domenic Camia on Laid Off and Looking to unpack:
Why news and comedy are basically dating each other now:
How AI, algorithms, and outrage are reshaping both industries
What it means to “punch up” when everyone’s already fighting online
Why the “War on Christmas” might be the world’s longest inside joke
And yes how ChatGPT became the most emotionally available man on the internet
This is smart, funny, painfully honest and way too real for anyone who’s ever doomscrolled their way through the news.
00:00 Start
06:29 - How Ya Doing is a Hard Question
07:16 - What I Respect About Journalism
12:35 - Using Emotion to Sell the News
15:12 - What’s at the Heart of Funny
19:38 - Comedians Say What Everyone Is Thinking
24:12 - Punching Up vs Punching Down
33:29 - Cancel Culture
44:51 - If Everything Is Funny, What Is Serious?
49:20 - What About AI
1:08:36 - Why Did You Become a Comedian
🎙️ Subscribe to Laid Off and Looking for more conversations where journalism meets real life
Laid Off and Looking
Most people think journalists are trained to stay detached, to report the story, and not feel it.
But what happens when the story breaks you?
In this episode we talk with journalist and researcher Louisa Ortiz Pérez, founder of the Media Resilience Network, who launched a groundbreaking survey exploring the emotional toll of journalism during the era of layoffs, audience distrust, and constant crisis coverage.
Louisa reveals what her data shows about:
🧠 Burnout, anxiety, and “moral injury” in the newsroom
💔 How layoffs and social media toxicity are reshaping reporters’ sense of purpose
🎙️ Why many journalists feel silenced, even in organizations built to tell the truth
🌍 And what needs to change to make journalism sustainable again
This conversation is candid, compassionate, and deeply human: a look at what it really means to do the work of journalism when the industry itself is falling apart.
How do we rebuild trust, without breaking the journalists who keep us informed?
00:00 - Start
02:11 - Jenna Remembers the Trauma of Sandy Hook
08:05 - Technology Changed the Game
11:08 - When You Are the Story
14:31 - You Shouldn’t Have to Shrug It Off
17:04 - Journalism Can Make You Sick
18:26 - Put Your Foot Down
22:37 - A Human Condition: A Play About Journalism
25:06 - Take the Veneer Off
27:28 - We Can’t Be Unseen
35:35 - Journalists Need 2 Things to Heal
44:49 - The Algorithm IS NOT Your Friend
48:08 - Only People Not Bots Can Do Journalism
52:29 - PTSD Should Be Recognized
55:15 - Why Did You Become a Journalist?
Media Resilience Network
https://mdrnet.org/
Take the Survey:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdAXBQMP8wgy_ecx2dh4WeqAb3fSUyIh8fndSkZrYBGR22yNg/viewform
