Do we need more positive news?
Last week we asked our twitter and facebook followers if they think it is the publishers pushing out negative content more, over positive? Or is it the fact that there is currently a lot of negativity in the world? 🤔 ...61% came back publishers fault 39% thought it was the negativity in the world.
Do negative news stories sell?
The most important role in journalism is scrutinising the powerful people and leaders within our society and holding them accountable. However, ‘Classical’ journalism focuses on a ‘If it bleeds, it leads’ philosophy where the focus is on conflicts and problems that are within our society. Journalists and publishers hope that by highlighting these issues within society someone will stand up and take note to try and fix the issue.
This creates a continual cycle of extremely negative news producing a negative mood for readers. Although at the heart of this cycle is the important issue of reporting on wars, and natural disasters, it doesn’t show you the whole picture of what is going on in the world, just the negative.
Studies within neuroscience have revealed that the human brain as a primitive survival mechanism, has been programmed to be more aware of negative news and react more to it. However our perception of important issues has been influenced by the media and how they report the news, the stories they run with and the language they use to describe them. Most believe the current media landscape is turned towards negative news stories as this is what is believed to sell.
According to Reuters Digital News Report in 2019, more people than ever are actively avoiding the news (32%), in the UK avoidance is up 11 points, mostly due to Brexit. 58% of people avoid the news due to the negative effect on their mood or due to feeling powerless to change events. This may be due to the negative media coverage, or the World becoming a more depressing place, but we can all agree the news is mostly negative.
Positive news 😃
With people actively avoiding the news due to the negativity there has been more positive news sites popping up. Here are a few positive news sources we have found to brighten up your day:
Good news network - "The #1 source for good news! For 20 years, our positive news from around the world has uplifted and inspired millions to become more optimistic."
Positive News - "The magazine for good journalism about the good things that are happening."
Happy Newspaper - "A newspaper to celebrate all thats good in the world...the happy newspaper is a platform to share positive news and wonderful people."
The Guardian has a section labelled the Upside where it contains "journalism that seeks out answers, solutions, movements and initiatives to address the biggest problems besetting the world."
Sunny Skyz - "Every day we share good news stories from around the world."
Have a search the good news is out there 🧐
Is solution based journalism the answer?
Should publishers and journalists focus on a different approach to the ‘if it bleeds, it leads’, showing the world through a lens that is not only turned towards the negative but also look at all of the positive. Some journalists have started looking at not only highlighting the problems but also suggesting solutions as well.
This constructive journalism allows readers the ‘feel-good’ factor from reading the news. Being shown the problem and allowed to see options or ideas on a way to tackle the issue, rather than just being left with the negative side allows readers to feel more positive about the news and also interested in follow up stories of what happened.
So the real question is how do we get more mainstream media focused on solution based journalism and allow insights into positive news stories as well as advice on how to solve the critical issues that occur within our society? How do we stand back from the negative flow of news without totally disengaging from the news, which is currently happening in our society? Journalism has an important role to play in a democratic society but we need to ensure it is engaging the public, not turning them away from the news.