Doom, gloom and the drive that strives to overcome it all

When I first started thinking about the theme for this column early last week, it was with the idea of sharing with you the impact on a newsroom of covering a sustained a crisis, noting the near impossibility of distancing ourselves as editors, photographers and writers from the events we are reporting.

They directly affect each of us and our families, too, a factor which helps us develop useful story ideas but also lays a veil of gloom over our operations as we do our work. It creates uncomfortable periods of silence, disruptions in schedules, expressions of fear, bursts of gallows humor.

Editors on our night news experienced months of such sensations late last year and earlier this year as they encountered story after story after story of unimaginable hatred and mass murder in the United States and around the world. The dark mood struck us all when the nation's financial underpinnings began crumbling in 2008, and it continued for years as the impact of that event and the rapid change in people's habits for getting information began taking a toll on our industry, our jobs and our colleagues and friends.

It was, of course, a constant weight on our newsroom during the dark weeks and months after 9/11.

Things have changed since early last week. Now, we find that somber atmosphere is something that can be missed.

The deepening health crisis has exiled us to our respective homes, where, like many of you, we struggle with technology, isolation, worry, duty, fear and the endless quest for toilet paper. There is reassurance, we find, in contact, in being able to share one's doubts, hopes and expectations with colleagues directly.

For the foreseeable future, it appears we will be without such reassurance, but that doesn't diminish the overriding ambition that carries us through such crises, whether we are able to work together shoulder-to-shoulder or must keep a safe social distance. That is the drive to be a positive force for the endurance and betterment of our communities.

We are trying to help and survive, all at the same time. We know well that we are not alone in that mission and that for many - police, fire and health workers, for instance; municipal, school and political leaders, too; and many others - the roles are invaluable and the duties even more critical. But, to the extent that we can play a role, we can never lose our urge to help.

So, we transform our personal circumstances into story ideas, and we reach out to experts for information. We look for bright spots that lift the spirit in troubling times. We offer diversions to keep you entertained and engaged. We reach out to you and your neighbors for ideas and the kind of experiences that, when shared, help others - whether it be through something practical like what's happening in the financial markets or something less tangible but equally important like the value of just realizing that others are going through the same trials and tribulations as you are.

We are all in this together, of course, with the emphasis here being all. That is both the frightening thing and the great opportunity in our situation. Our circumstances feel calamitous, but there is wonderful encouragement to be found in our ability to work together to overcome them.

The methods are complicated by the availability and deficiencies of our tools, but we continue to keep our heads down, our spirits up and our eyes on the ultimate goal. With such an approach, how can we ever be overcome by gloom?

Thanks for sticking with us in such times. We are committed to helping you get through them. Stay well.

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