Professional Identity, Ethical Exhaustion, and the Future of Analytical Media
Abstract
This research article examines the transformation of journalistic professional identity following prolonged periods of political, informational, and moral crisis. Building on earlier analyses of hybrid political processes, armed conflict, protracted war, and post-truth fatigue, the study introduces the concept of ethical exhaustion as a structural condition shaping contemporary journalism.
The article argues that after extended exposure to continuous crisis, mobilizational pressure, and interpretive fragmentation, journalists experience not merely professional burnout, but a deeper erosion of normative orientation and ethical motivation. This condition alters the role of journalism in the public sphere, shifting it away from mobilization and toward documentation, explanation, and long-term interpretive responsibility.
Drawing on interdisciplinary perspectives from journalism studies, media ethics, and the sociology of professions, the analysis explores how analytical journalism adapts under post-crisis conditions. The article concludes that while journalism can no longer rely on illusions of neutrality or universal trust, analytical media retain critical importance as custodians of meaning, context, and professional continuity in fragmented information societies.
Keywords:
journalistic identity; ethical exhaustion; analytical journalism; media ethics; post-crisis media; professional responsibility; public sphere
Author: Oleksandr Hryhoriev
ORCID: 0009-0002-3975-358X
Reviewers:
Valerii Herlanets
ORCID: 0009-0001-6289-3241
Myroslav Ivanovych Dochynets
ORCID: 0009-0007-2018-0132
DOI: pending
Full Text (PDF)
The-Journalist-After-the-Crisis-1References
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