News Stories About Fallen Journalists: The Institutional History of the Hero Myth in Journalistic Practice

ABSTRACT

This historical case study explored the existence of a hero mythology that might relate to journalists. The study also sought to determine if such a mythology supports a macho culture that encourages journalists to take risks on the job and shrug off the psychological impact of their work.

This study used qualitative methods to analyze news stories about 381 U.S. journalists who died from 1854 to 2019 and whose names appear on the virtual Journalists Memorial, now the focus of a Congressionally-authorized project to build a corresponding monument on federal land in Washington, DC. The stories invoked themes found in classic hero myths with the fallen journalists seen as giving their lives in service to greater journalistic values, including bearing witness and pursuing the truth. These stories espoused qualities absent from journalistic codes, such as courage and a type of stoicism that involved ignoring the consequences of dangerous assignments.

KEYWORDS:

• Mythology
• fallen journalists
• trauma
• institutional theory
• journalism history‌
• journalism ethics

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).