From:
To:
Subject:
Date:

iweb.langara.bc.ca
Scholarly Activity
New submission from RSAF Final Report
August 27, 2019 2:01:58 PM

1. Please introduce yourself – include pertinent background information relating to the topic of your
research project. Include your project title.
My name is Peg Fong, I'm an instructor in the Langara Journalism Department and I'm working with
Tanya Miller in the Dean of Student Services office on a survey project on journalism alumni about the
stress of their profession. We have been working with the aid of Courtney Fabri in Institutional Research
for a survey to be sent out by the Langara Foundation in September
2. Please discuss your educational background and your work experience that led you to taking on this
research project. If possible, include a quote that helps define your interest in this project.
Journalism is a stressful career, one in which there are great rewards for the reporter and the audience
they serve. The mantra our students learn is that journalism is about afflicting the comfortable and
comforting the afflicted. But there is a personal toll on journalists--with job losses in the industry, changes
to their workload and expectations of the content they deliver. We believe it is important to check in on
journalists and their mental health as they are often at the forefront of stressful news.
3. Please explain the concept for your project in terms that others not in your field would understand,
like an executive summary.
This will be the first time we have reached out to our alumni and asking them about their stress levels.
Journalists are always the ones asking questions and this survey gives us a chance to reconnect with our
alumni and ask them questions about their mental well-being.
4. Identify goals and objectives for the project, and how the results may be used, perhaps to solve a
problem, or to inform further research in that field.
The goals and objectives of this survey is to take a snapshot of our alumni's mental health and stress
levels. We want to reconnect with them as a department and provide them with some reassurance that
although they have graduated from our program and are working in their chosen profession, that as
journalism graduates, there is a community of support.
5. Briefly explain the steps taken to conduct the project research, and the results found.
We have been working with Institutional Research to prepare a survey of 20+ questions after receiving
insights and suggestions from our faculty members.
6. Who else was involved in this project? How did their involvement help? Ie: other faculty, students,
community partners
This project involves:
Department of Journalism
Dean of Student Services office
Langara Foundation
Instituional Research
7. What were/are you hoping to get from conducting this research?
We hope we can publish the results in either a news release, publication or academic journals to give
context to new journalists or those already in the field.
8. Can you share any personal stories that made this research experience memorable/valuable?
The department of journalism has lost between 20 to 30 per cent of students from our classes in the last
four years due to admitted stress and anxiety issues. We want to learn better how to help our current and
future students deal with stress and anxiety.

9. Do you have any tips/suggestions/ideas for applying this research in your field? Or for others in
their fields? Or for conducting future research of this kind?
We believe that because this is the first time any department has conducted a survey on their alumni's
stress levels/mental well-being that there are opportunities for other departments to replicate the survey.
10. Any final comments? What are the “next steps” for this project? And for you?
Journalists are expected to ask questions and report. Their jobs can be stressful, especially at a time
when the industry is undergoing tremendous changes. This survey provides us, as educators of
journalists, some insights into how journalists working in the field are dealing with stress.