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.

Rebuilding trust

Where is trust most needed? How can it be learned? Explore how people worldwide are navigating times of mistrust and discover how we can begin to build trust in each other.

BALANCE

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

The Monitor's View

Unanimous court rebuttal to political animus

The Monitor's View

The oyster is your world

A beaver project in England offers lessons in coexistence

As Israel zeroes in on Rafah, its aims – and concerns – are clear

Cover Story

Is enough still enough? Sweden reckons with its culture of ‘lagom.’

Hostages or Hamas? Cracks spread in Israeli unity over war aims.

COMMUNITY

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

COMPASSION

An unselfish love that embraces others.

Biden’s food drops in Gaza underscore difficulties with Israel

In France, a new prescription for mental health: Museum visits

Poland appears torn by abortion. Research hints divide isn’t so deep.

The Monitor's View

Seeds of compassion in Myanmar

In Gaza, humanitarian network is in crisis even as needs soar

The Monitor's View

A court’s soft words for a hard crisis

COOPERATION

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

COURAGE

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

‘Hamas gambled with our lives’: Gazans are now daring to speak out

Ukrainians along front: Digging deeper, and waiting, waiting ...

Robert Smalls lived an action-hero life. Why isn’t he a household name?

Faces of heroism in Gaza: Doctors, taxi drivers, journalists

To stay or go? Bombarded by Israel, Gazans make anguished choice.

With hostages’ fate uncertain, Israeli families tend spark of hope

CREATIVITY

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

DIGNITY

An inherent quality or worth that cannot be degraded.

EQUALITY

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

The Monitor's View

For India’s young women, it’s batter up

‘The Lily Gladstone effect’: Will Native actors get boost at Oscars?

In the wake of teen’s death, why LGBTQ+ Oklahomans say they stay

The Monitor's View

Look who’s saving European democracies

Family leaders and fighters, Israeli women rise to war’s challenges

The Monitor's View

In Chinese homes, gains in equality

FAIRNESS

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

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.

Millennials tiptoe toward better chance for homeownership

In escalating war zone, Druze village has a message: Hope and peace

Don’t talk, act: How a Ugandan city is getting kids off the street

‘My responsibility to be hopeful’: The Climate Generation at COP28

Climate progress in charts: Gaps and gains, as world meets in Dubai

At the 100-year mark, Disney offers nostalgia, hope, and ‘Wish’

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.

In Senegal, domestic violence survivors craft hope in silver

Ukrainians along front: Digging deeper, and waiting, waiting ...

Amid Western aid cuts, Ukraine families wonder how they’ll get by

Preserving culture, one textile at a time

Ukraine: After two years of war, the abnormal is the new normal

Podcast: Why We Wrote This

Three years after ‘the freeze,’ we probe Texans’ faith in their grid

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

For Harlem, can a renaissance remembered also be revived?

Free pads and frank discussion: Bangkok schools tackle ‘period poverty’

How Cleopatra got caught up in a culture war

When a beauty pageant becomes a feminist frontier

‘We have to hold hope.’ How Jewish-Palestinian families cope.

The Monitor's View

Green energy’s green light

RESPONSIBILITY

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

‘Hamas gambled with our lives’: Gazans are now daring to speak out

Spring ‘breakup’: What’s behind the US beach town crackdown

The last coal plant in New England is sputtering. What happens next?

Focus

Too many California kids can’t read. Phonics alone may not be the fix.

Family leaders and fighters, Israeli women rise to war’s challenges

Podcast: Why We Wrote This

Three years after ‘the freeze,’ we probe Texans’ faith in their grid

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.

TRANSFORMATION

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