Maslow and journalism’s human spirit
The other day, as the work week between Christmas and New Year’s began in earnest, I received an email from the office of the Michigan Attorney General. The email was in response to a complaint I had filed months earlier regarding inaction on benefits I was receiving under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which allowed freelance and gig economy workers, traditionally ineligible for unemployment benefits, to receive them to supplement income from lost work. Workers would apply for benefits with their state unemployment office, and the federal government would provide a bonus amount on top of what the state offered.
I complained because my benefits were being held up — caught in a bureaucratic snafu where paperwork sent on time had to be resubmitted, as answers were given a second, third or fourth time to questions already entertained. It was pure luck to get a straight answer, miraculous if one could reach a representative.
The good news is that my concerns were mostly resolved after my complaint was acknowledged, though the AG’s office said they were unable to provide advice or intercede on my behalf, per state law.
However, the timing of the email from the AG’s office was apt as you and I find ourselves ending 2021 the same way we ended 2020. We’re anxious about the future, and our supply of patience, once abundant, is just about depleted, even as we hold conversations to propel the world forward with the hope the solutions proposed don’t fall on deaf ears.
This applies to our professional worlds too, including, in my case, journalism, which has been trying to figure out its future in the midst of vast economic and social quagmires. The timing of that email, and the reminder of the anxiety of trying to navigate the world of unemployment benefits on top of everything else an early career journalist worries about, gave me pause, and allowed me to reflect on journalism — from the stories that are produced to how they are produced, and how, along the way, we can keep talented people from exiting the profession altogether.
2023 will mark 80 years since the renowned psychologist Abraham Maslow wrote the paper “A Theory of Human Motivation.” In that paper, published in Psychological Review, he wrote of the hierarchy of needs — his signature contribution to the psychology field which overlaps into other aspects of society.
These needs are composed of five categories — physiological needs, safety needs, love and belonging needs, esteem needs and self-actualization needs. Once one category of needs are met, beginning at the bottom, one can move forward in accomplishing needs in the next category.
It is this hierarchy that offers a glimpse into who we are as humans and what makes us tick. It also allows for reflections on how to enrich the human spirit. We see journalism as a profession that can do that, a profession that makes things better — and it is this hierarchy that offers a glimpse into how, more than ever, we can do just that.
People want to feel safe and secure with the information they receive. They do not want to be reminded, as it appears to be the case on most national TV news programs (cable or broadcast), that every story is breaking news (even if the story itself is hours old before airtime) and feel like panicking because the story is treated as such.
I say that because I’ve panicked after reading and seeing stories in an attempt to answer some of my own questions. While some of the coverage, both local and national, surrounding the funding for the CARES Act was helpful, some of it wasn’t, and I know that had news organizations considered the hierarchy of needs, less panic would have ensued for me, the consumer.
It’s not just the stories that are produced, but lessons can be taken as to how to keep talented journalists and prevent them from exiting the industry. As Olivia Messer wrote earlier this year, the pandemic has had an impact on the mental health of journalists, and something needs to be done about it. Journalists deserve to work in an environment where they are not only supported in their work, but are also supported as human beings. Policies regarding remote work as well as mental health can be designed with Maslow’s theory as a guide as a way to make the working environment better.
2022 is a year where the needs of the people will be front and center as we figure out what post-pandemic life will be like. 2022 is also an election year — where the politics of the pandemic will be front and center, as every debate is considered, discussed and dissected on multiple outlets. While the politics of happenings is part of the story, it is not the only story, and there is more to it than that.
Indeed, 2022 can be the year that journalism as a profession of helping humans be at their best can truly be indicative of that, by prioritizing the humans at the forefront of this work. That can all be accomplished by using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as a guide to help create better journalism, not just for those working in it, but for those who rely on it.
David Otis Ives, the longtime head of the public broadcaster WGBH in Boston, described their purpose on the air thusly decades ago: “Our purpose is to help you cope better with the world and your own life.”
Journalism can do that, and the best journalism is journalism that will allow our fellow human beings to be at their best. There is a collective responsibility for everyone in journalism to help make that happen, because if we don’t, who will?
