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.

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.

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?

Podcast: Why We Wrote This

Why greening a city meant first winning over its jaded residents

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

Cricket is having a moment in the US. Can it bowl over American audiences?

COMPASSION

An unselfish love that embraces others.

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

Difference Maker

Meet the Canadian who’s feeding Ukraine’s stray dogs

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.

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.

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.

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

Criticized, doubted, and now champions. How two Celtics rewrote their story.

They came to the US against their will. Their descendants returned to Africa for them.

In Pokrovsk, Ukraine, a rose is a rose – and a sign of resilience and hope

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

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?

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

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