“A new approach to deal with sensationalism and negativism in news that are increasingly turning off audiences and pushing them to trust media less and care less about the world is the application of constructive journalism,” Mark EGAN an experienced media professional with expertise in training and new ways of working both in television and multi-media environments told media.
At a training session on Constructive journalism held on October 9-13, 2017 by the Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU) Academy in association with EUROVISION Academy, with the support of the European Union and MEDMEDIA, he said ” Constructive journalism can empower audiences to have an accurate view of the world and also learn about solutions, not just problems, what’s working and not just what’s not working.”
Arab journalists from different broadcasting and print media, namely from Algeria, Mauritania, Sudan, Sultanate of Oman and Tunisia took part in the training conducted by Mark EGAN.
There is a need for constructive journalism, he said, because of the “pressures of audiences as well as other pressures.
People see news becoming more cynical and negative, and what they see and read do not match the experience of what they see in the real world.”
The new concept of Constructive journalism is a solutions-focused approach to news in which reporters don’t just concentrate on problems but also examine solutions.
Rather than merely investigating what’s going wrong in the world, they explore what’s going right – and why.
Constructive journalism isn’t about ignoring negative news or covering feel-good stories. It is rigorous reporting about responses to social problems showing what people are doing to tackle important issues.
In Tunisia people get in depression that everything is wrong (in Tunisia) where as the reality is a mixture of something going well and something not going well, he pointed out.
So constructive journalism is about explaining the world better, being conscious about the impression your coverage gives is an accurate impression of the reality on the ground and also looking at solutions and bringing people together”, he went on saying.
Upon the request of many ASBU Member Broadcasters, and aware of the need to promote training in ASBU and grant it the importance it deserves so as to keep up with the current communication revolution and meet the challenges facing Arab media, and keen on improving the level of training provided, ASBU set up a high-level training academy as a strategic option that would ensure the sustainability of the training activity and boost its quality at all leves.
TunisianMonitorOnLine (MNHN)
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