Constructive Journalism - Squirrel News

Constructive Journalism

Constructive journalism has gotten increasingly popular over the years. But what does it mean exactly? Here is a brief overview.

Newspapers, glasses

There is no single universal definition of constructive journalism. It has, however, come to be distinguished from solutions journalism. Solutions journalism is one kind of constructive journalism: a subsection of the larger category of constructive journalism, which is defined more broadly.

Solutions Journalism

Solutions journalism reports on new approaches and models that are credibly proposing or already working to solve social problems. The focus is usually on technologies, projects, companies or policy decisions that improve conditions for a specific group of people in a particular area. These can range from treatments for serious illnesses to innovations in climate and environmental protection to programmes and projects that combat loneliness or promote political education.

The Solutions Journalism Network has identified four core criteria for good solutions journalism:

1. The solution must be the main focus of the article. How it works should be explained as clearly as possible.

2. The key findings must be clearly presented. What is there to be learned from the solution the story describes?

3. Effectiveness should be demonstrated. Is there evidence that the solution works? This could be empirical data or reports from the parties involved. If neither are available, this should be stated.

4. The limitations of the approach must be pointed out. Every solution has its shortcomings. These can include technical constraints, financial challenges or an overdependence on local conditions and social factors. Pointing out such limitations does not make an approach less worthy, but it does make it easier to evaluate it.

Constructive Journalism

Focusing on solutions is an essential component of constructive journalism. The newly founded Bonn Institute and the Danish Constructive Institute go on to include two further elements: a rich variety of perspectives and constructive dialogue. The Bonn Institute cites ‘diversity, complexity, perspective and self-reflection’ as criteria for constructive journalism, and ‘establishing common ground, a spirit of interested empathy, impartiality and a view to the future’ as criteria for constructive dialogue.

The Constructive Institute explains the two additional elements as follows:

Cover Nuances: Strive for the best obtainable version of the truth. See the world with both eyes.

Promote Democratic Conversation: Engage and facilitate debate, including people in the community.

The emphasis on constructive dialogue and democratic debate can be illuminated by the example of TV talk shows, where people discuss more than they report and which have yet to exhaust their constructive potential.

Prejudices and misconceptions

Although the concepts of solutions journalism and constructive journalism are now well established and hundreds of journalists have been trained in these methods, the approaches are still relatively new, and there are still many preconceived notions held and aspects that are misunderstood – not least among journalists themselves who have not yet explored the methods in depth. Therefore, we have compiled a set of answers to the most common misconceptions on a separate page.

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