Journalism that gives courage: A different view of the world is possible

There was a time when I no longer wanted to be a journalist. It was 2021 and I was working for a local newspaper in my hometown of Bolzano in South Tyrol. Every day I wrote about refugees living on the streets, overcrowded emergency shelters and a state government that wasn't doing enough for integration and human rights.

This work frustrated me. I constantly asked myself: Couldn't it be better? Can't we learn something from other countries? However, I almost never found the answers to these questions in the media I read - and I wasn't used to asking them myself in my work. My editorial team encouraged me to expose and denounce the incompetence of politics.

A critical attitude is an important journalistic value. But the journalism that I and others have done has not only frustrated me as a media worker. It also frustrates many media users. The Reuters Institute, which annually examines trends in global media consumption for its “Digital News Report,” surveyed 2,000 people in 48 countries in 2025. Around 40 percent said that they regularly consciously avoided news because it made them depressed, overwhelmed and was too negative. In 2017 the proportion was 29 percent.

Growing news fatigue is a problem. Because if you are not informed, you don't know what to do and you are more susceptible to manipulation and fake news. Against this background, how can the media better fulfill its role as guardians of democracy?

I now enjoy working again. Because I discovered constructive journalism and have been writing for Perspective Daily, the online magazine that brought this approach to Germany in 2016, for almost five years. Our approach is intended to offer more solution orientation and a wealth of perspectives and thus awaken a feeling of self-efficacy in our readers.

Does that work? What effect does constructive journalism have on those reading it, but also on me as a journalist?

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When I read the first articles written using the principles of constructive journalism, I thought: Wow, this is the type of reporting I've always been looking for. Nothing was glossed over here, the problem was described in the same way as elsewhere - but people also asked how things could continue. The articles talked about people who help shape solutions and think about the future.

One text was about the phenomenon of political hobbyism. In it, political scientist Eitan Hersch criticizes people who regularly find out about politics and discuss it with their friends like they do about rival sports teams - but rarely get actively involved at a local level. Who never attend city council meetings, write to their local representatives, petition for more bike paths or volunteer to maintain urban gardens.

This inspired me to turn my frustration into something productive. I started working night shifts in a winter shelter for homeless people – many of them refugees. Twice a month I let people into the house in the evening, made tea, and exchanged a few words with the residents. In the morning I woke up the people who had to leave the home until the evening and locked the house.

Constructive journalism drew my attention to new perspectives and helped me to ask different questions as a journalist. I wrote a report about the winter quarters, the motivation of the volunteers, the joy of the Syrian children when they were allowed to enter the warm house at night and were given tea with cookies. But I also asked why politicians didn't financially support the citizens' commitment and what the people there were demanding.

The situation of many refugees and homeless people remains frustrating. But now I no longer just see the failures, but also what is already happening in some places to make things better for those affected. This leaves a less bitter aftertaste when I write about these topics.

A meta-study from the US Virginia Commonwealth University from 2023 confirms that it's not just me. According to this, constructive journalism triggers positive emotions in the audience and weakens negative feelings. Of course, journalism isn't there to make everyone feel good. But too many negative reports are paralyzing. And as the study shows, reporting that highlights positive developments increases people's willingness to act and strengthens their belief that they can make a difference as individuals, but also as a collective.

Anecdotally, we see these effects reflected by our readers. People regularly write us sentences like this: “It’s just good to read your articles and look at difficult situations with confidence.”

Our medium is niche. Almost 13,000 people are currently subscribed to it. Sometimes I ask myself: Why can't we reach more people when so many long for more confidence in journalism? Is the constructive approach perhaps not transferable to the general public - or has reporting changed in the last ten years?

“And where is the constructive twist here?” We often hear this sentence when someone comes up with an article idea. Admittedly, we don't always have an answer to this. Sometimes we decide not to place a topic.

Nevertheless, I am convinced that every topic can be addressed constructively, some just a little later. It doesn't always have to be a striking solution. This often doesn't exist, especially when it comes to wars and political upheavals - topics that I often write about. However, I can consider whether I portray those affected in a conflict as passive victims or whether I attribute agency to them. Whether I just report on how much was destroyed or later also about the people who are rebuilding buildings and working to hold society together.

Constructive reporting takes time and resources. These are scarce in editorial offices. Nevertheless, the approach is spreading in more and more German media - this is confirmed by the Bonn Institute for Journalism and Constructive Dialogue - even in daily news media where speed is essential.

Recently I read a text in the “Tagesschau” app about the latest results of the Pisa study. The news itself was discouraging, after all, German students have performed worse than ever. The text also reported on what countries like Singapore or Estonia are doing differently in their education systems in order to perform better, and what measures the German government is already implementing to offer students from educationally disadvantaged households more opportunities. Although the solutions were only touched on superficially, that still leaves me more confident.

Other media integrate at least parts of constructive journalism in the form of small sections. ZDF, for example, presents three solutions to a current problem in its monthly documentary format “Plan B”. Another example is Radio Cosmo from WDR with the “Daily Good News”. Even though it is still in its infancy in the broader German media landscape, constructive journalism is gradually spreading.

Is that enough to make people less tired of news, or do we also need to think more radically about constructive journalism? Right-wing populism is spreading and many people have little trust in politics and the media.

This text first appeared in wochentaz, our weekly newspaper from the left!

Every week, wochentaz is about the world as it is – and as it could be. A left-wing weekly newspaper with a voice, attitude and the special taz view of the world. New every Saturday at the kiosk and of course by subscription.

What else can media do about it? For me the key is humanity. Let's make ourselves approachable as journalists, reflect on our own blind spots instead of playing the objective expert, strengthens trust. That is also constructive.

I tried this, for example, in a text from Ukraine in which I describe civilian life in Kyiv going on while drones terrorize the country at night. I describe my feeling of alienation at the hateful nationalism that I see from many people. Even from yoga teachers or other civilians from whom I would not have expected this.

But I also reflect on the fact that my feeling probably comes from a privileged position and I am unsure whether my opinion would be different if I were affected. I don't give answers, I allow the contradiction, the uncertainty. I expose my own human strife and biases. Perhaps this is exactly what can bring you closer to the readers again.