Good news travels fast
Anguish, drama, pain, tragedy. I could go on…
All words we associate with negative experiences when what the majority of us want to hear and read are examples of positive and uplifting behaviour such as kindness and love; traits naturally associated with human existence.
A world of negative requires a positive
News values and a clamour to be the first to break and air bad scenarios in a world of 24-hour channels and a multitude of social media platforms seem to have resulted in the removal of feel-good items on our bulletins.
(For those of us old enough, think the tonic of Sir Trevor McDonald’s ‘And Finally’ on News at Ten!)
Seek and you shall find
Is it simply a case I am sourcing my news in the wrong places, or are we easily led to feed off the drama and controversy highlighted in our media?
There are inspiring tales to be found if we rummage through the outer layer of negativity, but surely this should not be the norm.
Should it not be a responsibility of key media players to focus on stories that move and touch us in a positive manner, rather than constantly shining the microscope on the existence of hate?
I for one would certainly like an increased prolificity of news features highlighting good experiences, enjoyment of events, radiant weather, uplifting family situations, heart-warming tales of friendship and reunions, and positive encounters with nature.
See you at the crossroads
Is now not the crossroads moment for our media to capitalise, riding on the coat-tails of the previous few years and promoting a shift change in reporting?
I’m not naïve and realise that bad does exist in our world, but surely how our media articulate themselves could feed positive emotions and a coming together of people, rather than the current way of reporting.
After all, good news sells too!
I’d love to hear your thoughts.
In which of the following ways would you like our media outlets to promote news-telling?
Lead with good news/positives.
Keep reporting as is.
Promote hybrid dissemination.
