We need more utopias. This is the title of an article on Perspective Daily - a German online medium for journalism that is perhaps a utopia itself. This is because it operates according to the unusually constructive motto #zeigenwasgeht. The very first article on Perspective Daily was about the fact that child mortality has fallen worldwide and the literacy rate has risen. Which was demonstrably hardly known in Western industrialized countries at the time. "Back then" was almost 10 years ago. And Perspective Daily is still around - so if it's a utopia, it's a living one.
Why bad news is so popular
"From a media perspective, it's hard to do without bad news," says Anne Jeck, Head of Communications at Westbridge Advisory. "Unfortunately, negative news is very helpful in the bid for attention." The background to this is that the human brain reacts more strongly to negative news than to positive news. This phenomenon is known as "negativity bias". "However, the short-term attention-grabbing success in reporting has the downside that more and more people react by turning away from the news in the long term. They simply can no longer cope with the flood of negativity and are informing themselves less and less," says Jeck. This is shown by a study by the Reuters Institute, among others.
Proven buffer effect
Constructive news and good news, on the other hand, build up a buffer effect in us, according to another study. It was published by the University of Sussex in 2023. A buffer effect so that we can more easily tolerate the omnipresent war reports or, for example, the fact that we will only get to grips with the climate crisis very late, if at all. "Of course, this must and should be reported on, because it is all true and important. But if the buffer effect of more good news helps us to better deal with critical issues, then we at Westbridge are happy to join in," says Jeck.
Figures, data, (good) facts
We would therefore like to put our finger on the good rather than the bad. In the coming weeks and months, we will continue to bring you good facts, figures and data. "Our own data, such as the amount of CO2 we have saved for our customers in the real estate industry," says Jeck. "Or general, overarching topics that we might be in danger of overlooking in the media."
Climate-neutral sources with a record
Did you know, for example, that Germany set a new all-time record for electricity generation from sunlight in June? And that a new annual record was set for onshore wind energy? That electricity consumption in Germany was largely covered by climate-neutral sources for the first time in 2023? The ZEIT newspaper reported on this and also showed how things can continue in a positive direction.
Solution instead of problem
So not bad news everywhere after all? A dissertation at the FU Berlin from 2019 analyzed the environmental reporting of Die Welt, FAZ, SZ and many more. It found that solution-oriented articles were significantly more common than those in which the problem dominated (37% to 21%). The media sample analyzed is comparatively old. But the result is still good news, isn't it? We say: more of it!
Sources:
- We need more utopias. How to create your own | Perspective Daily (perspective-daily.de)
- Infographic: Bad news? No thanks! | Statista
- Buffering the effects of bad news: Exposure to others' kindness alleviates the aversive effects of viewing others' acts of immorality | PLOS ONE
- Energy transition: Renewables will cover half of electricity consumption for the first time in 2023 | ZEIT ONLINE
- Microsoft Word - SR Diss 100 plus (fu-berlin.de)