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.

Kids as cooks and dog walkers? How one elementary school encourages independence.

No Caitlin Clark? How US Olympic basketball teams are chosen.

The Monitor's View

A jury’s calm reasoning

South Africans head to polls. After 30 years, has Mandela’s party lost its luster?

More companies embrace on-site child care. What that means for working parents.

Taiwan’s new president urges China to ‘face reality’ and work toward peace

COMMUNITY

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

Scottish identity is in. Scotland’s nationalist party is (likely) out. Why the disparity?

In Gambia, a youthful country grapples with how to care for its elders

Podcast: Why We Wrote This

A big city. A big drop in murders. Our reporter wanted to know why.

With free laundry and salsa classes, Bogotá tries to care for its unpaid caregivers

Near Ukraine war’s front lines, threatened villages try to build a future

Germans can now be dual citizens. But will society treat them like they belong?

COMPASSION

An unselfish love that embraces others.

Families in a rural Texas town adopted 77 children. This couple led the way.

The Soviets stifled volunteerism in Russia. Torrential flooding may be reviving it.

Amid isolation over Gaza, Israelis grapple with ‘becoming outcasts’

Some Ukrainian soldiers are struggling with a personal foe: gambling addiction

How doulas and cafes help people break the last taboo – talking about death

Sam Schultz: A heart for service on the US-Mexico border

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.

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

Difference Maker

For this housewife-turned-commander, the Ukrainian battlefield is the place to be

Islamists target northern Mozambique – especially the children

Taiwan protesters meet China’s intimidation with defiance

Podcast: Why We Wrote This

A ‘disproportionate toll’: A woman of Gaza on what Gaza’s women face

This journalist exposed corruption in the Malawian army. Now he’s on the run.

CREATIVITY

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

Podcast: Why We Wrote This

Looking for light: A veteran photographer on the ‘Monitor lens’

Meet the coast’s living fossils. Horseshoe crab gets an image boost from artists.

With hit ‘Girl, So Confusing,’ pop stars offer a model of conflict resolution

Difference Maker

Using scrap metal and imagination, this contractor builds lifelines in Tunisia

Rebels with a religious cause: Meet New York’s avant-garde conservatives

A visit to ‘Giants’ offers reflections on Black art – and lives

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.

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.

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.

Commentary

As the Civil Rights Act turns 60, a call to recommit to what it stands for

The Monitor's View

Baseball steps up to a unifying plate

ICC prosecutor angers Israel, Hamas, but will that impact the war?

Difference Maker

Her father was unfairly arrested in Nigeria. Now her nonprofit fights for others.

The Monitor's View

Modeling equality for Syrian justice

Texas SB4 could upend 100 years of US immigration law by empowering states

PEACE

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

The Monitor's View

Lebanon’s stirrings of peacemaking

To avoid war, Israel and Hezbollah shift their red lines. But war heats up.

ICC prosecutor angers Israel, Hamas, but will that impact the war?

The Monitor's View

War in Gaza sparks a reckoning

Iran’s official line on exchange with Israel: Deterrence restored

Gaza cease-fire talks: Egypt, US hopeful a formula has been found

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.

Immigrant stories of the American dream

4 ATMs, 2 million people: Cash crunch compounds Gaza’s wartime woes

Many Israelis are resigned to war with Hezbollah. Are they prepared?

Near Ukraine war’s front lines, threatened villages try to build a future

How Lebanese escape Hezbollah-Israel fight, a war beyond their control

The Monitor's View

Safe learning for children in war zones

RESPECT

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

The Monitor's View

Ballots for kinder politics

Podcast: Why We Wrote This

It’s much bigger than Caitlin Clark: Our writer tallies women’s recent gains

Working-class ‘red wall’ voters decided the last UK election. How do they feel now?

The Paralympics are coming to Paris. Will Paralympians be able to get around?

On Ukraine’s battlefields, this group respects fallen soldiers – no matter which side

Podcast: Why We Wrote This

For Harlem, can a renaissance remembered also be revived?

RESPONSIBILITY

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

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.

How Lebanese escape Hezbollah-Israel fight, a war beyond their control

‘This is not our war.’ Lebanese Christians caught between Hezbollah and Israel.

Why Israeli relief over hostages’ rescue from Gaza was short-lived

Jail time for leaving gun in an unlocked car? Cities nudge states on firearm laws.

Once a seaside getaway, Gaza ‘safe zone’ now feels like a polluted prison

Political assaults aren’t just a Slovakia problem. Germany is seeing them, too.

TRANSFORMATION

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

Wars of the future will be awash with drones. The Pentagon is trying to keep up.

The Monitor's View

A new Baltimore bridge will span more than water

Vancouver needs homes. Local First Nations have plans on how to provide them.

Even before his latest victory, Modi was reshaping India. These numbers show how.

The Kremlin is all-in on war in Ukraine. That includes transforming Russia’s economy.

What unpopular president’s death means for continuity vs. change in Iran

TRUST

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

UK Conservatives are about to lose big. Here’s how the Reform party is making it happen.

In Latin America, armies stage comebacks – but not by coup

French parties once united to stop the far right. Will they do it again now?

Podcast: Why We Wrote This

A big city. A big drop in murders. Our reporter wanted to know why.

Many Israelis are resigned to war with Hezbollah. Are they prepared?

Podcast: Why We Wrote This

Why greening a city meant first winning over its jaded residents