1.

WHAT IS CONSTRUCTIVE NEWS AND WHY

IS IT NEEDED?

A
OBJECTIVES

• Identify the current pitfalls of the news media

• Understand the impact of news on the audiences
• What is Constructive Journalism and how it can help
• Tools to implement Constructive News
• Ideas on how to change the newsroom culture
• Applying Constructive Journalism in the Sri Lankan context
• Coming up with hands-on guidelines
THE MEDIA CRISIS

• The revolution in IT and

communications has
probably hit no other sector
harder than the news media
• No other business has found
its role so fundamentally
challenged, its value and
worth called into question
and its organisation and
business models threatened
to extinction
NEGATIVITY

• In 1960 25% of the press coverage of

the U.S. presidential candidates was
negative
• By 2000, more than 60% was
negative
Source: Patterson, T. E. (2000). Doing well and doing good: How soft
news and critical journalism are shrinking the news audience and
weakening democracy – and what news outlets can do about it

Pic: Gage Skidmore via Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0

A 2014 media analysis of the US,
UK and German media coverage
found that conflict and crime
shaped the news agenda

Source: Media Tenor

THE PICTURE IS WRONG

“Negativity is an illness
caught by even
serious newspapers,
magazines and not at
least TV News
broadcasters all over
the world.

The problem is not

that their numbers are
wrong. Problem is that

the picture
gets wrong”

Roland Schatz
CEO, Media Tenor
EXERCISE

-In 3 groups: assess your own news website

-What does it look like?
-How do you represent the reality?
-Is the negativity over-represented?
-Does it give an accurate picture of Sri Lanka?
WHAT IS THE FOCUS?

-Are we so focused on reporting on the

hole in the cheese, that we forget to tell
about the cheese?

-Do we only look for the hair in the soup

that people forget about the soups

-Do we have a responsibility to the future

of the world? Or should we just go on
covering its problems?
SOUNDBITE DEMOCRACY

In Germany, the length of soundbites by politicians was 35

seconds in 1983, what was it in 2009?

10 seconds Source: Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Donsbach

In the US, the average

length of a soundbite is 5
seconds.

Source: Potter, D., & Gantz, W. (2000) Bringing viewers back

to local TV. NewsLab.
THE AUDIENCE WANTS A POSITIVE CHANGE

• BBC study showed 64% of under-35s on-line want news to provide

solutions to problems, not just news that tells them about problems.*
• 89% of the German audiences thought that the media reported too much
about the problems and not enough about the solutions.**
• 45% of Germans find news too conflictual and negative***
• 83 % of Danes ask for more stories, which can inspire to solutions on the
challenges facing society and the world ****
Sources:

* journalism.co.uk: “5 key research findings about young online audiences from BBC
World Service”
** Bayerischer Rundfunk
*** RTL study, 2015
**** Analyse Danmark opinion poll for DR in November 2011
AUDIENCES TIRED OF NEWS BECAUSE IT IS
SO DEPRESSING

• 84% of Americans perceived the news to be depressing and

77% perceived it to be negative.
• Another survey showed that many Americans watch less local
news because the stories were too negative, too often about
crime and too infrequently presented positive information.
Sources:

• Potter, D. (2000). The shrinking local news audience. American Journalism Review
** Potter, D., & Gantz, W. (2000) Bringing viewers back to local TV. NewsLab.
APATHY AND COMPASSION FATIGUE

“News Media are now so full of

stories of misery. Negativity controls
news flow, and therefore also
politics and public debate.”

“Apathy or fear is the result. The

risk is that people not only deselect
media as sources for news, but
also that they disengage in the
public debate.”

Professor Hans Henrik Knoop

President of The European Network for
Positive Psychology
WHAT IS OUR ROLE?

• Who we are ?
• Why we are here ?
• The meaning we create ?
• Our role in society ?
• The future of quality journalism ?
• It is about journalistic habits
• Putting ethics in the centre of
attention
• And the need for change
SO, WHAT IS THE SOLUTION?
YOUR DEFINITION OF CONSTRUCTIVE NEWS?

-Take 10 minutes to think of the definition of

Constructive Journalism
-Write the elements down on the paper
-Present it to the rest of the group
DEFINITIONS (1)

Constructive Journalism is an approach which aims

to empower audiences with a more
accurate and balanced picture of
society, while using open-minded
journalism to find answers and
possible solutions regarding the
issues facing it
DEFINITIONS (2)

Constructive Journalism is a form of quality

journalism that serves the society by
providing its audiences with a fair,
accurate, and contextualised picture
of the world, without
overemphasising the negative, and
by facilitating public debate around
solutions
ELEMENTS OF CONSTRUCTIVE NEWS

• Adhering to core functions of rigorous

journalism. Stories of importance to
society
• Serves society by providing an accurate
representation of the world
• Steers clear of stereotypes, clichés &
over -simplification
• Makes more diverse editorial decisions
ELEMENTS (2)

• Provides better analysis and

context
• Informed by facts, research. Only
bias data-driven.
• Bridging, not polarising
• Facilitates public debate, not only
around problems, but also around
solutions
QUESTION OF ADDED VALUE

“ In order to preserve their vital public-service function

-not to mention -survive -news organisations need

to re-evaluate their role in the information
landscape and reinvent themselves to better serve
their consumers. They need to raise the value of
the information they present. As it stands now, they
often do the opposite”
Bree Nordenson
ADDITIONAL TOOL

• We need to add to the traditional news

criteria
• People also need inspiration and “best
practice” stories to show that the world isn’t
just crazy, dangerous and mean
• To show that it is also full of opportunities
and hope
• But not a cure-for-all
2. HOW TO IMPLEMENT CONSTRUCTIVE NEWS
OBJECTIVES TODAY

MORNING:

-Understand how to change the newsroom culture

-Learn and reflect on the 5 keystone behaviours of Constructive
Journalism
-Discuss and analyse constructive story examples
-Apply in the Sri Lankan context
AFTERNOON:

-Draft the guidelines

CULTURE CHANGE -
IT DOES NOT HAPPEN OVERNIGHT

• Constructive News is a reframing of how we define news

• It requires leadership -it challenges the identity and way
of thinking
• It requires a change of culture
• It requires support from all management levels
• It requires explanation and justification
• It requires training support
• It is part of the entire news gathering and reporting
process
DISCUSSION

-What steps can you take to change your newsroom

culture back home ?
-What kind of leadership style can you adopt?
-Write down 5 actions and present it to the rest of the
group
1) STORY SELECTION
• Go off the agenda
• Think differently
• Think broadly about sources
• What are the core issues facing
your audience?
• Invite the audience to tell you; get closer to them
• “Listen louder”
• Don’t pre-judge stories -investigate
• Revisit previous stories
• Look for positive deviants (best performers in data sets)
THE AUDIENCE AS CONTRIBUTORS

• 5.0m Sri Lankans

online
• 3.5m Sri Lankans
on Facebook
Source: Telecommunication Regulatory
Commission of Sri Lanka

Video: Channel 4 News

WHERE TO LOOK?

• Your audience and social media

• Peer-reviewed academic journals (e.g. Google Scholar)
• Interview academic experts
• Data sets (e.g. UN institutions, Global Burden of Disease report,
Gapminder, government)
• Social entrepreneurs and innovators
• Your own life and problems you are facing. Are others facing the
same issues? What is being done about that?
INSPIRATION: HTTP://STORYTRACKER.SOLUTIONSJOURNALISM.ORG
2) PLANNING
• Ask what is missing in the public debate? Awareness of the problem or
what can be done about this issue?
• Is there an angle you haven’t considered before?
• Does the story provide NEW information?
• Are you telling the whole story and not just half of it?
• Dig deeper – ask WHY and HOW? (not just WHAT?)
• Are you being fair?
• Is there a solution?
• Is the problem being tackled elsewhere? Ask: who is doing this better?
Look worldwide
• What is your evidence? Is it credible? One-off?
NEW INFORMATION -IT
CAN HAVE AN IMPACT
3) GATHERING
• Who do you speak to? Think of unlikely characters
• Do you involve new voices?
• Make sure to get the opposing view as well (informed sceptics)
• What do you ask?
• Are you genuinely trying to foster understanding between sides of a conflict or
pitching two sides against each other?
• Do we ever ask what parties agree on?
• Is there stereotypical imagery you need to rethink?
• Go on site and witness it in action
• Are you relying on data and facts?
INTERVIEWING

• In addition to 5Ws (who, what, when, where, why), add SO WHAT?

WHAT NOW? HOW?
• Look beyond who did it? Ask how they did it?
• What people affected think?
• How is it succeeding and failing? Move away from black and white. Be
open to shades of grey.
• Ask questions oriented towards the future
• Where do the conflictual parties agree? How will they collaborate?
• What will it take to succeed?
4) STORYTELLING
• Have you set context so the audience does not get a warped view of
reality?
• Can you tell the story distinctively, in a way that makes people revisit their
opinions and preconceptions?
• Can you make it compelling without being cynical?
• Can you create a situation to bring conflicting parties to dialogue?
• Do we move the story on?
• How many questions are left unanswered?
• Does the story explain the limitations and caveats? Do not over claim or
advance a specific agenda!
• Kill your victims, villains and heroes!
WHY DO THE MOST NEGATIVE STORIES OPEN
OUR BULLETINS?

• Would we be less credible if we mixed it up?

• Why does sport always have to be at the end?
• Would we be viewed as different to the
competition if we sometimes prioritised
constructive stories?
• How can we maintain a reasonable balance of
stories?
Pic: Surf Dogs USA
5) SHARING
• Target relevant communities on-line – e.g. Specialist blogs, Facebook groups
• Read comments -consider the journalism on-going
• Pose questions, “What ideas do you have?”
• Re-visit communities and follow up on relevant comments
• Remember you don’t have to share exclusively via social media
• Blogs still have value in giving more background to stories and encouraging
more detailed discussion
• Check the effect of constructive treatments on-line via web statistics and social
media engagement
TWO KEY WORDS IN CONSTRUCTIVE POSTS

“How”

• Learn how councillors plan to save

the closure of 6 Copenhagen
schools
• Find out how families in Denmark
are beating the cold and saving
money
• Discover how to help your kids fight
off summer flu.
“Why”

• Why scientists think strawberries

are the healthiest fruit
• Why Danish pig farmers think the
health warning on bacon’s wrong
• Why train drivers say their strike
will save passengers’ lives
EXERCISE

-In 3 groups, discuss:

-What is the news agenda of Sri Lanka today?
-Select 3 most important stories of the day
-How would you add a constructive angle to the stories?
-Present to others
THANK YOU AND SAFE TRIP HOME

@EBU_Academy