E27: Start the Ripple, Build the Movement: Leading with Compassion

📝 Episode Summary:

In this episode of The Compassionate Newsroom, Dr. Kortni Alston Lemon takes you behind the scenes of two powerful speaking engagements that highlight the urgent need for systemic well-being in journalism.

Fresh from the NABJ Emerging Journalists and Investigative Reporting Summit at The New York Times and The Carter Center’s Executive Forum, Dr. Kortni shares why the NABJ Wellness Task Force must not be the first—or only—line of defense. Instead, it’s time to recognize the news leaders who are already building cultures of care and empower them to lead a movement across the industry.

Whether you’ve already integrated well-being into your newsroom or are just beginning, this episode outlines how your leadership can become the ripple effect journalism needs.

🔑 In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• Why the NABJ Wellness Task Force sparked an industry-wide call to action

• What Mental Health First Aid certification can mean for your newsroom

• The five steps to scale care beyond your team and into the profession

• How to move from “doing the work” to leading the movement

💡 Quotable Moment:

“It was a reminder—and an invitation. Because you’re already doing the work. But here’s the question: How do we turn your leadership into a movement?” — Dr. Kortni Alston Lemon

🔄 Ripple Effect Actions:

• Mentor a fellow news leader

• Share your well-being wins publicly

• Normalize care across your team’s life cycle

• Model vulnerability at the top

• Advocate for newsroom metrics that reflect mental health and culture

🔜 Up Next:

In the next episode, we’ll explore Mental Health First Aid for Newsrooms—what it is, how it works, and why it's essential to sustaining your leadership.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to the Compassionate Newsroom Podcast
14:41 The Importance of Leadership in Wellbeing
17:13 Creating a Culture of Care in Newsrooms
18:13 New Chapter

🔗 Resources:

• Learn more about the NABJ Wellness Task Force: www.thecompassionatenewsroom.com/nabjwellness 

• Explore Mental Health First Aid Certification for News Professionals: https://www.kalminstitute.org/