News & Values

Behind every news event are the values that drive people and nations. See how they offer a deeper, clearer understanding of the latest stories, or sort through all our stories by the different values beneath them.

LATEST STORIES
BALANCE

The effort to find a harmony between extremes, not to avoid confrontation or make bold ideas blander or more palatable.

Podcast: Why We Wrote This

Neighbors, eye to eye? Where a politics writer found America’s new comfort zone.

‘Dumbphones’ a smart move? Some young people seeking free time and friends say yes.

‘It doesn’t have to be scary.’ How to get students to love reading.

Politicians are embracing ‘Lord of the Rings.’ Tolkien had something different in mind.

They stepped away for mental health. Their comebacks are powering the Olympics.

Road to the Olympics: Workouts, fundraising – and starting your own business

COMMUNITY

The coming together of individuals or groups to form bonds of fellowship that strengthen and enrich themselves and those around them.

Dropping the ‘senior’ in senior center: Beyond bingo, there’s speed dating and travel

Focus

‘Salaam. Shalom. Peace.’ How US interfaith groups work for peace in a time of war.

Podcast: Why We Wrote This

Neighbors, eye to eye? Where a politics writer found America’s new comfort zone.

How a front-line husband-and-wife reporting team gets the news out in Ukraine

In mountainous North Carolina, residents are the first responders after Hurricane Helene

In ‘The Wild Robot,’ a 5-star fable for our AI age

COMPASSION

An unselfish love that embraces others.

COOPERATION

The effort to work together, respecting the diverse strengths and views in others.

Biden and Netanyahu – and the diminished US standing in Middle East

What do Jewish and Palestinian Israelis have in common? Hope.

The Monitor's View

Pro athletes as star exemplars

Podcast: Why We Wrote This

Smartphones at school: Inside a not-so-simple debate

Human smuggling is on the rise. International collaboration is key to halting it.

Kamala Harris’ world vision: Encouraging to allies, vague on details

COURAGE

The honest struggle to overcome fear and suffering from a desire to do right. Hatred and anger are not courage.

Podcast: Why We Wrote This

Fluency, curiosity, and a bike: Letting Taiwan tell its own story

Georgia unveiled a statue of John Lewis. It stands on symbolic ground.

A different gold medal – for gentile diplomats who quietly saved Jews

Cover Story

The Olympic spirit: 7 athletes share tales of grit and sacrifice

Commentary

For Martin Luther King Jr., the conversation on political violence was very different

A Civil War hero got a new statue. Her name is Harriet Tubman.

CREATIVITY

The application of inventiveness, originality, and imagination to address a problem or produce something fresh.

In ‘The Wild Robot,’ a 5-star fable for our AI age

Podcast: Why We Wrote This

Beyond the buzz: A Monitor film reviewer on the art of curation

‘Water connects all of us’: Black artists create a new relationship with the sea

In Congo, embroidery artist stitches an archive of war

Podcast: Why We Wrote This

On a music festival stage, our writer found folk’s deepest-diving scholar

Why writer AJ Jacobs took up his quill to live like a Founding Father

DIGNITY

An inherent quality or worth that cannot be degraded.

Dropping the ‘senior’ in senior center: Beyond bingo, there’s speed dating and travel

The kids are all right: How rural India’s ‘goat nurses’ help animals – and themselves

Once ‘extinct’ in Canada, the Sinixt people are reclaiming their ancestral home

Ukraine’s nationalist Azov fighters, once sanctioned by US, strive to clear name

How James Earl Jones’ iconic voice became our voice of conscience

This wall has 122,000 names on it. It’s a testament to people who survived.

EQUALITY

The effort to ensure everyone has the same opportunity to thrive and be treated with respect.

FAIRNESS

The effort to base decisions and judgments on impartial fact and proof without bias toward one group or viewpoint.

Apology but no cash payments: California reparations for slavery start incrementally

Special treatment? How judges are handling Trump ahead of election.

Podcast: Why We Wrote This

Immigration stories are American stories. How one writer learned to tell them.

Two-thirds of Parliament from a third of the votes: Are British elections out of whack?

These English PhDs helped train Google’s AI bot. Here’s what they think about it now.

As NCAA and Olympics start paying athletes, what happens to the amateur ideal?

FORGIVENESS

An overcoming of resentment or a desire for vengeance in the face of injustice. It never excuses wrong behavior.

FREEDOM

The unhindered expression of universal rights, qualities, and dignity. Freedom expands rights rather than pitting one against another.

GENEROSITY

An expression of compassion that gives of one’s own gifts – a sharing of abundance or charity despite hardship.

GRATITUDE

The deep recognition or appreciation of goodness or generosity in others.

HONESTY

A commitment to truth that challenges oneself and others to look at issues deeply, without deceit or bias.

HOPE

The earnest expectation of good, no matter the circumstances.

Podcast: Why We Wrote This

‘Sharing the human stories’: What keeps our Gazan reporter going

The Monitor's View

Roots of Mexico’s confidence against crime

From the Editors

After October 7, where do Israel and Gaza look for hope? History shows a way forward.

Cover Story

‘This is what the war has done’: How October 7 forever changed Israel and Gaza

To reach Kashmir’s Himalayan nomads, teachers bring classrooms to the pasture

In the shadow of war, life begins anew in a Congolese maternity ward

HUMILITY

Free from pride or arrogance; not impotent or subservient.

INNOVATION

The search for new ways to find solutions and discoveries.

INTEGRITY

The commitment to acting honestly and according to high principles of compassion, responsibility, and fairness.

JOY

A happiness whose genuineness and radiance brightens others.

JUSTICE

The effort to ensure the fair and moral treatment of everyone. Honesty and reformation create the conditions for restoration.

PEACE

The calm achieved in the struggle to overcome strife or find personal meaning. It is not achieved merely through force or avoidance.

PROSPERITY

The thriving of people or communities. It can involve monetary wealth but points more deeply to well-being.

RESILIENCE

The strength expressed by people and communities in recovering from difficulties. It involves victories – small or large – amid adversity.

Where Hezbollah stands, and what’s at stake, after battering by Israel

‘The Last of the Sea Women’: How one director is documenting a South Korean tradition

Podcast: Why We Wrote This

‘Sharing the human stories’: What keeps our Gazan reporter going

‘Enough is enough’: In Israel, rationale for war trumps distrust of leaders

After year of war in Gaza, Hamas is mostly unseen. But it’s surviving.

Hurricanes and wildfires are closing schools. How can students get back on track?

RESPECT

An appreciation for others’ efforts or principles that promotes cooperation instead of anger or distrust. It does not excuse wrongdoing.

Podcast: Why We Wrote This

‘Sharing the human stories’: What keeps our Gazan reporter going

Podcast: Why We Wrote This

Neighbors, eye to eye? Where a politics writer found America’s new comfort zone.

The Monitor's View

Civility’s art of listening

The Monitor's View

Where civil debates yield civic results

The Monitor's View

A stroke of dignity at the Olympics

The Monitor's View

The cultural kinship of JD and Kamala

RESPONSIBILITY

Fulfilling a duty to act from high motives, with due consideration for the care of oneself and others.

In a gun-friendly state, parental liability looms following school shooting

Podcast: Why We Wrote This

On a music festival stage, our writer found folk’s deepest-diving scholar

Podcast: Why We Wrote This

Drug decriminalization: A shift from side-taking to solutions

US weapons help Ukraine advance. Will concerns about corruption put that at risk?

Biden’s pullout marks the end of an American era

Kateryna the Coal Miner? War gives Ukraine its own ‘Rosie the Riveter’ phenom.

SAFETY

The belonging and freedom from fear that come with peace and trust. Safety strengthens as it expands, not harming one at the expense of another.

The Philippines has held out on legalizing divorce. Is it set to call it quits?

Fueling Israel-Iran escalation: Dangerous parallel universes

Iranian missiles and Israeli invasion of Lebanon bring Mideast back to the brink

Podcast: Why We Wrote This

Smartphones at school: Inside a not-so-simple debate

Why Putin’s nuclear saber-rattling on Ukraine sounds different this time

The rumors targeted Haitians. All of Springfield is paying the price.

TRANSFORMATION

A change driven by an honest desire to improve, which gives fresh strength and purpose.

TRUST

Hope and confidence in a relationship that has demonstrated mutual respect.

‘Enough is enough’: In Israel, rationale for war trumps distrust of leaders

Biden and Netanyahu – and the diminished US standing in Middle East

Podcast: Why We Wrote This

Neighbors, eye to eye? Where a politics writer found America’s new comfort zone.

The Monitor's View

Forgiveness in time of war

His own party calls him traitor. Can Japan’s new PM rebuild trust in politics?

The Monitor's View

Haiti’s start for real security