By Susanne Fengler
At the annual conference of the International Communications Association (ICA) in Cape Town in early June 2026, the panel ‘Journalism in Flux: Changing Perceptions and Narratives’ addressed a fundamental question: What happens to journalistic work when institutions become fragile, funding models collapse and democratic certainties fade?
Journalism worldwide finds itself in a state of permanent instability: not only democratically and economically, but also in terms of its professional self-image amidst increasingly difficult political conditions.
Particularly striking in this context was the presentation “Threatened or Disillusioned?” by Alexis Haskell, Logan Molyneux and Erin Coyle. Based on a survey of US journalists, the researchers investigated how perceived threats to press freedom and journalistic disillusionment affect democratic engagement within the context of their professional practice.
Disillusionment as a silent killer
The results reveal a surprising difference: those who perceive external threats – political attacks, declining trust or restrictions on press freedom – do not necessarily withdraw. On the contrary: perceptions of threats increased the willingness to carry out journalistic work relevant to democracy, for example through public records requests. In their presentation, the authors described this as a form of strategic resistance against democratic erosion.
Disillusionment, by contrast, had a very different effect. Journalists who lose faith in the purpose, impact or democratic significance of their work are more likely to withdraw. The presentation refers to a “checking out effect” – a gradual, internal withdrawal from journalism’s democratic mandate. It is not external attacks that thus appear to be the greatest danger, but the loss of professional purpose.
The study thus points to a key shift in contemporary journalism: the crisis is no longer merely institutional or economic. It is increasingly psychological.
Ukrainian media face financial pressure
Just how closely economic pressure and journalistic identity are linked was also demonstrated by the presentation ‘Adapt or Give Up’ by Kostiantyn Yanchenko and Tetiana Gordiienko on Ukrainian newsrooms following the withdrawal of USAID media funding.
The researchers painted a picture of radical organisational adaptation. Their presentation documented redundancies, project cancellations, budget cuts and a growing focus on market and funding dynamics. Many Ukrainian media organisations are structurally dependent on international funding – in some newsrooms, such funding accounted for a significant proportion of the overall budget.
The adaptation strategies adopted in the wake of the withdrawal of these funds ranged from staff cuts and a greater focus on the audience to opportunistic forms of communication with donors. The researchers described this as a tension between journalistic mission and organisational survival.
What was interesting was the ambivalence of the findings. On the one hand, the cutbacks led to psychological strain, a decline in the diversity of content and growing uncertainty. On the other hand, some newsrooms developed stronger ties with their audience and new organisational learning processes. Journalism is not portrayed here as a rigid institution, but as a highly adaptive practice under exceptional circumstances.
Institutional Fragility and Emotional Exhaustion in Ghana
The project “Is Journalism at Risk?” by Timothy Adjin-Tettey and Maxwell Agbaglo Asuman focused more closely on individual career trajectories in the Global South. It examines journalists in Ghana who have left the profession or wish to do so. This phenomenon has so far been studied primarily in relation to media systems and journalistic cultures in the Global North; in this respect, the study provided important new insights into professional cultures in the Global South that have been little researched to date.
The study identifies a range of structural causes in Ghana: poor pay, precarious working conditions, a lack of career progression opportunities, psychological strain and a lack of social recognition. The findings impressively documented the extent to which economic insecurity undermines journalistic motivation.
Particularly noteworthy was the link between emotional exhaustion and institutional fragility. Many of the former journalists interviewed described their work not primarily as a democratic mission, but as a permanently precarious burden with no long-term prospects.
Unstable circumstances are altering the very self-image of journalism
The researchers linked this to the theory of social exchange: when organisations consistently fail to provide their employees with sufficient resources, protection or recognition, commitment to the profession itself declines.
Consequently, the crisis in journalism is shifting from the level of individual media organisations to that of professional identity. It is not only newsrooms that are coming under pressure – the very self-image of journalistic work is also losing its stability.
Journalism as an active bulwark of democracy?
This was precisely the starting point for the paper “Reporters for Democracy” by Karin Assmann and Anna Lorenz. The study examines journalists who explicitly view democracy as part of their professional remit. The paper showed that many media professionals today no longer define themselves exclusively as neutral observers. In the face of authoritarian tendencies, disinformation and the erosion of democracy, a growing understanding of the role is emerging that views journalism as an active institution safeguarding democracy.
However, this development is ambivalent. On the one hand, it strengthens journalistic motivation and social responsibility. On the other hand, it exacerbates conflicts surrounding objectivity, activism and political positioning. Particularly in polarised public spheres, the claim to defend democracy quickly becomes itself the target of political attacks.
Crisis drives transformation
Overall, the papers presented in the session painted a remarkably coherent picture: journalism is in a state of constant adaptation. External threats, economic uncertainty and institutional change are having a profound impact on journalists’ self-image.
It was striking that the crisis was not simply portrayed as a decline. Rather, many contributions described new forms of professional self-assertion: investigative resistance, adaptive organisational structures, greater proximity to the audience, or democratic self-positioning.
It is perhaps precisely here that the most important insight from this ICA session lies: journalism is currently changing not in spite of the crisis, but because of it. The future of the profession is taking shape in the midst of a state of emergency.
This article, “Journalism in a State of Constant Crisis: Exhaustion, Adaptation & Democratic Self-Assertion“, was originally published by the European Journalism Observatory on 26 June 2026.