Daily Herald columnist Jim Slusher: In times of high stress, we aim to provide a break from bad news

Managing Editor Lisa Miner starts every morning news meeting with the same question for editors: "How can we be helpful to our readers today?"

Often, she is greeted with the Zoom equivalent of averted glances and embarrassed foot shuffling, but more often, an editor or two will bring up some situation they've noticed in the suburbs or some idea or query that came out of a conversation with readers or with their neighbors.

But this week, Executive Editor Jim Baumann put a new spin on the theme. In essence, it broke down to something like this: "How can we give our readers a break this week?"

Chief among his concerns was the week of trauma and sorrow out of Highland Park that dominated the front page for a week. But, that wasn't the only upsetting recent news. There's the ongoing Jan. 6 hearings. Continuing fallout from recent Supreme Court decisions. Distressing increases in infections from yet another COVID-19 strain. The assassination of a prime minister in Japan. The ongoing war in Ukraine.

It can become almost too much for people to bear.

"Sometimes the news is just too much," Baumann said. "Any time we can come up with something that's more positive, a little more uplifting, that's a good thing to do, and we especially need to be looking for more of those stories this week."

There is a sort of rhythm with any major news event or controversy. For days afterward, stories, analyses and commentaries seem to focus on almost nothing else. Before long, the stories begin taking up less and less space on the front page. The headlines become smaller and calmer. Eventually, the reports fade toward the inside of the paper and then into sporadic updates and reminders in the weeks and months that follow.

This is only natural, of course. But when sensational and emotional developments appear to pile one onto another simultaneously, even the most cheerful optimist can plunge toward nerve-wracking despair.

Psychologists and sociologists offer a variety of techniques for readers and viewers to manage "news overload." At the Mayo Clinic's website, psychiatrist Dr. Sheila Joysey offers several tips to help people cope, including volunteering or engaging in some action that can help you feel more positive, just getting outside to absorb nature's calming influence, exercising and focusing on staying positive.

Such responses are valuable, of course, but one of the ways we in the news media can help, and the point Baumann was getting at, is to make sure we bring attention to significant positive events that are just as compelling and influential as the negative ones we're covering. Out of this kind of thinking have come several recent stories I hope you noticed.

On Saturday, for instance our Sean Stangland provided a refreshing look at the entertainers and artists who brightened the festive atmosphere at Rosemont's FanExpo Chicago over the weekend. A day later, Burt Constable profiled a Crystal Lake woman with a disability - and "a knack for raising spirits in a world that won't seem to give us a break" - who overcame childhood bullying and self-doubt to become Miss Amazing Illinois. On Monday, we made the front page's center of attention a story by climate writer Jenny Whidden on the impacts electric vehicles can have on the environment and your pocketbook, and Tuesday, Steve Zalusky described the efforts of two local women whose training and determination enabled them to save the life of a man who collapsed at Chicago Half-Marathon last month.

We strive regularly to remind readers in various ways that there is more to the news than the sensational, and that's a truth worth remembering every day. But it's especially important to consider during times of high stress and fear.

Our editors may sometimes get stumped trying to think of a unique event or topic to help make your life more manageable, but they're looking for ideas and opportunities every day, even when "helping" just means reminding you that, for all the truly miserable events going on in our communities and our world, there always are reasons for hope, joy and pride.

• Jim Slusher, jslusher@dailyherald.com, is managing editor for opinion at the Daily Herald. Follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jim.slusher1 and on Twitter at @JimSlusher.