ESSAY: What is constructive journalism?

Before the further discussion about the role of constructive and conventional
journalism, an introduction of the case is of central importance as it is such a
complex story that cannot be reduced to several words. Two waves of blasts
happened in a warehouse storing toxic chemicals in Ruihai International Logistics at
the Binhai Industrial Park in the Chinese port city of Tianjin. It have killed more
than a hundred people including firefighters, left hundreds more injured or
homeless, and caused a large devastation in the city» (BBC, 2015a). Between the
two waves of blasts, many victims from the inside were reporting their situations to
the outside in Weibo and Wechat. The media coverage of this man-made disaster
has allowed the globe to watch the event simultaneously.
This event should be categorized into the class of «Ecstatic News», which
means the extraordinary events that unfold through live footage, images and
narratives moment by moment, situating the audience in the «truly historic time» to
witness the event without a clear beginning or end. The sublime event triggers an
indeterminable historical moment because it is never encountered before and lacks
any template for taking actions. As an extraordinary event in a global scale, the 2015
Tianjin Explosions is so huge that no one could see the whole picture and predict its
social and political influences at the first stage1.
The field of positive psychology has long shown that constructive, solution-
orientated accounts of the world are much more likely to encourage readers to
engage with their community and with society at large than purely negative news
reports. Let’s have a look at negative bias in the news revealed that news stories
with a positive approach: «gave rise to significantly higher motivation to take
positive actions (donate to charity, be environmentally friendly, make opinions
known etc.) than negative news stories.» Consuming positive news can lead to
increased acceptance of others, a feeling of community and motivation to
contribute to social change.»
1. The only way we can make a change is by believing that we can.
1
Sillesen, Lene Bech «Good news is good business, but not a cure-all for journalism». «Columbia
Journalism Review». 29 September 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
 2. Because it's what people want to read (and what they want others to read
too). It's the «constructive» stories that are most-often shared.
3. Because there's not enough of it being made.There's a huge demand for
these kind of constructive news stories, particularly among young people. Around
two thirds, 64 per cent, of under 35s in a BBC World Service survey said they
«want news to provide solutions to problems, not just news that tells them about
certain issues.»2
Journalists have the potential to change the way people see the world, and
also to shape their beliefs in our ability to change it. Backed up by this
understanding, and inspired by the desire to create a sustainable future, the
constructive journalism movement will continue to grow.
People want to nurture imaginations with information and alternatives, firm
in the belief that they can’t solve the problems of today and tomorrow with the
same yesterday mindset that created them. A socially- and environmentally-just
world can only be created when they combine an understanding of the problems
with a visionary outlook, when they have hope for the future and believe that every
individual in the global community has the agency to act. Other organisations
promoting and teaching constructive and solutions journalism have grown
alongside, and new ones launched.
Thus, conventional journalism focuses on news unusual occurrences, which
mainly entertains and inform the public. It is merely descriptive and tells the story
of an event. Constructive journalism is an emerging domain within journalism that
is slowly getting grounded within academia and involves the field of
communication that is based around reporting solution-focused news, instead of
revolving only around negative and conflict-based stories.
Reference
1. Gyldensted, Cathrine «Innovating News Journalism through Positive
Psychology». «University of Pennsylvania Scholarly Commons». 1 August 2011.
Retrieved 21 December 2014.
2
Ellis, Justin «With Knight funding, Solutions Journalism Network wants to grow reporting on positive
results in health reporting». «Nieman Foundation». 18 January 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
 2. Curry, Alexander L. & Hammonds, Keith H. «The Power of Solutions
Journalism» Archived 2014-07-02 at the Wayback Machine. «University of Texas
at Austin». 1 August 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
3. Gyldensted, Cathrine «You will not believe what Upworthy can teach
the media about sustainability». «The Guardian». 14 August 2014. Retrieved 21
December 2014.
4. Sillesen, Lene Bech «Good news is good business, but not a cure-all
for journalism». «Columbia Journalism Review». 29 September 2014. Retrieved
21 December 2014.
5. Tenore, Mallary Jean «How constructive journalism can improve the
way media makers tell stories» Archived 2014-12-21 at the Wayback Machine.
«IVOH -Media as Agents of World Benefit». 2 September 2014. Retrieved 21
December 2014.
6. Albeanu, Catalina «Why constructive journalism can help engage the
audience». «Journalism.co.uk». 18 August 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
7. Ellis, Justin «With Knight funding, Solutions Journalism Network
wants to grow reporting on positive results in health reporting». «Nieman
Foundation». 18 January 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.