Harassed at Work: Digital and Offline Harassment, Coping Strategies, and Journalists’ Occupational Satisfaction

This study analyzes the 2023 Korean Journalists Survey (N = 2,011) to examine how digital and offline harassment affect material and value-based job satisfaction. Grounded in the Transactional Theory of Stress and Coping, the research demonstrates that digital harassment significantly undermines both satisfaction dimensions, whereas offline harassment affects only material satisfaction. Findings reveal a paradoxical pattern in coping strategies: while emotion-focused and problem-focused coping are generally associated with lower satisfaction, they provide significant protective effects specifically against digital harassment. Notably, journalists in non-hard news sectors—including digital, opinion, and video—reported higher exposure to harassment than traditional hard news reporters, challenging conventional assumptions about journalistic risk. Organizational support emerged as the strongest predictor of job satisfaction across both dimensions, highlighting a critical need for differentiated support systems. The study concludes that individual coping strategies are effective only when matched to the specific characteristics of the stressor, suggesting that digital harassment is more amenable to personal intervention than offline threats. The study highlights the critical need for differentiated organizational support systems that address the unique vulnerabilities of contemporary media work.