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Nuancing the Narrative-CALLS FOR CONSTRUCTIVE NEWS - Constructive Institute
2019–20
                                Annual Report

Nuancing
the Narrative
– CALLS FOR CONSTRUCTIVE NEWS
Nuancing the Narrative-CALLS FOR CONSTRUCTIVE NEWS - Constructive Institute
CONSTRUCTIVE INSTITUTE
ANNUAL REPORT 2019-20
PUBLISHED IN DENMARK BY
CONSTRUCTIVE INSTITUTE

EDITOR
MONICA SENKER HOLBECH

PHOTOS
YONAS TADESSE
MATHIAS SVOLD
PETER DAMGAARD KRISTENSEN
SHAHIN-KHALAJI FOR UNSPLASH
FLORIAN STEFFEN FOR UNSPLASH

COVER PHOTOS BY
YONAS TADESSE

FRONT:
FROM THE PHOTO COLLECTION
“FINDING MEANING IN A PANDEMIC” BY YONAS TADESSE:
HEALTH WORKERS SURPRISE COVID-19 PATIENT IN RECOVERY
WARD WITH A CAKE ON HER BIRTHDAY.

GRAPHICS & LAYOUT
MONICA SENKER HOLBECH

CONTACT
CONSTRUCTIVE INSTITUTE
C/O AARHUS UNIVERSITY
BARTHOLINS ALLÉ 16
BYGNING 1328, 1. SAL
8000 AARHUS C
DENMARK
+45 601 38 600
INFO@CONSTRUCTIVEINSTITUTE.ORG

Constructive institute is an
independent center at the heart of
the constructive journalism movement.
Our mission is to change the global
news culture in five years.
Join us @ConstructiveIn.

                                                       CONSTRUCTIVE INSTITUTE IS SITUATED ON AARHUS UNIVERSITY CAMPUS.
                                                            THANK YOU TO STUDENTS, RESEARCHERS, STAFF AND THE SENIOR
                                                             MANAGEMENT FOR THE COLLABORATION AND FOR HOSTING US.

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Nuancing the Narrative-CALLS FOR CONSTRUCTIVE NEWS - Constructive Institute
CONTENTS
PAGE 4
Introductory Note:
“Beyond the Problem”
By CEO Ulrik Haagerup

PAGE 6
Introduction:
The Corona Virus is a Global Call
for Responsible Journalism

PAGE 8
“Journalism During Corona”
By Professor Liesbeth Hermans

PAGE 10
Covering Corona Constructively
“Word Matter”

PAGE 12
New Report:
“Danes Ask for Constructive News”
By Professor Hans Henrik Knoop
& CFOO Peter Damgaard
Kristensen

PAGE 14
“Solutions to News Avoidance”
By Professor Morten Skovsgaard
& Ass. Professor Kim Andersen

PAGE 18
How To Do Constructive Journalism?

PAGE 22
Global Constructive Master Class

PAGE 24
Constructive Journalism Fellowship

PAGE 26
Fellows Essays
By Morten Runge, Mette Aaby,
Kasper Kaasgaard, Sarah Golczyk,
Jo Williamson, Friederike Felbo,
Minna Skau, Tine Tud Seerup,
Mathilde Graversen, Hans
Davidsen-Nielsen, Jakob Risbro
and Katja Boxberg

PAGE 38
Events & Activities

PAGE 44
Funders & Sponsors

PAGE 46
Constructive Institute Organisation
                                      3
Nuancing the Narrative-CALLS FOR CONSTRUCTIVE NEWS - Constructive Institute
Constructive Institute

    Beyond
    the
    Problem

4           Annual Report         Photo: Mathias Svold
Nuancing the Narrative-CALLS FOR CONSTRUCTIVE NEWS - Constructive Institute
Constructive Institute

                                                                                       “applies
                                                                                         Constructive journalism
                                                                                                a new vocabulary,
                                                                                         so both news people and
                                                                                          the people we serve can
                                                                                       have a better conversation.
                                                                                             – ULRIK HAAGERUP, CEO CONSTRUCTIVE INSTITUTE

WRITTEN BY ULRIK HAAGERUP,
CEO OF CONSTRUCTIVE INSTITUTE

Any sales person, interest group or politician    The internet and the disruption have had           reporting” emerged. To many it sounded
knows, perception is reality.                     seismic impacts on the news industry. Not          strange because wasn’t all reporting
                                                  only have business models for journalism           investigative? No, it was not, far too
People make decisions when they vote, shop        been shaken and competition for the                much of it was printing of press releases
or make any decision in their personal or         attention of news audiences exacerbated            and handing politicians the microphone
professional lives based not on what the          but news has also sped up, increased               and the message. It was not enough to
facts are, but on what they perceive to be        in volume and become increasingly                  talk about the need for “better” or more
the facts. Where do we get that from? We all      sensationalist.                                    “quality” journalism but now the news
get our perceptions from what we can see                                                             industry had a new vocabulary.
with our own eyes and from what we hear           The results have been people in their
from others around us, the rest is media.         millions turning their back from traditional       IT'S TIME TO INVEST IN NEW TOOLS
                                                  news – and so have the advertisers who

“Editorial choices                                for more than a century have been the
                                                  main funders of independent journalism.
                                                                                                     News organisations could start investing
                                                                                                     in tools for “investigative” reporting: New

about what news                                   News avoidance has become a growing
                                                                                                     ways of organizing in reporting units; new
                                                                                                     ways of interviewing people with power,

should focus                                      trend, as especially woman and new
                                                  generations avoid the “noise” of a news
                                                                                                     who wanted to hide the truth; new ways
                                                                                                     of researching using documents and
on… have huge                                     cycle that is overwhelming, always on and
                                                  always on-hand through digital devices.
                                                                                                     data; and new ways of publishing in series
                                                                                                     and documentaries applying storytelling
impact on the way                                 In Reuters Digital News report 2020 from
                                                  over 30 countries 32% of respondents said
                                                                                                     techniques from fiction and movies.

other people see                                  they actively avoid the news. Nearly 60% of        Constructive journalism applies a new

themselves, each
                                                  these said it was because it had a negative        vocabulary, so both news people and
                                                  effect on their mood, others described             the people we serve can have a better

other and the world
                                                  feeling powerless to change events.                conversation, both about what is missing
                                                                                                     in traditional reporting and also how we

they live in.”
                                                  “News avoidance has become a growing               can do it better with new questions, new
                                                  trend, as especially woman and new                 focus, new roles, new concepts and new
                                                  generations avoid the “noise” of a news            tools.
More than probably any other profession           cycle that is overwhelming.”
journalism is a filter between reality and the                                                       “Constructive journalism applies a new
public perception of reality. Editorial choices   Political polarization has also encouraged         vocabulary, so both news people and
about what news should focus on, what             the growth of partisan agendas online,             the people we serve can have a better
reporters ask, how their stories are angled       which together with clickbait and various          conversation.” Constructive journalism
and what to publish and not to tell all have      forms of misinformation is helping to              is neither an alternative to being the
a huge impact on the way other people see         further undermine trust in media – raising         watchdog, nor a quick fix for a profession
themselves, each other and the world they         new questions about how to deliver                 in desperate search for a future and a
live in.                                          balanced and fair reporting in the digital         purpose.
                                                  age. Business as usual is no longer an
WAR OF ATTENTION IN THE DIGITAL AGE               option for news organizations.                     At Constructive Institute we do not have all
                                                                                                     the answers but we do believe in curious
The war of the public attention has               A NEW TERM FOR JOURNALISM                          and critical questions and that applies
increased in the digital age in many                                                                 to the role of journalism itself. We are
newsrooms for the last 20 years. And the          That’s why we came up with the term                certain that we now need this conversation
strategy in too many of them has been to          constructive journalism – because positive,        because in the words of Bulgarian writer
just turn up the volume button with more          happy, fluffy non-critical, North Korean           Maria Popova “Hope without thinking is
breaking news alerts, more stories, sharper       version of reporting it is not. It builds on all   naïve – but critical thinking without hope
headlines, more drama, more conflict.             the old journalistic values about fairness,        is cynical”.
                                                  fact-fulness and serving people “the best
Doing all this on more platforms, all with less   obtainable version of the truth”.                  We want to change the global news culture
and less money and fewer and fewer people.                                                           because we fear that journalism is partly to
It doesn’t sound like something McKinsey          It was Watergate-reporter Carl Bernstein           blame for the trust meltdown in media and
would call a “winning strategy” in any other      that coined the term “the best obtainable          democracy. But mostly because we are
business, does it? Well, it’s not in the news     version of the truth” and it was during the        certain that journalism needs to be part of
industry either.                                  1960’s and 1970’s the term “investigative          the solution too.

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Nuancing the Narrative-CALLS FOR CONSTRUCTIVE NEWS - Constructive Institute
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Nuancing the Narrative-CALLS FOR CONSTRUCTIVE NEWS - Constructive Institute
Constructive Institute

In a
Time of
Isolation
the Media
Must
Provide
Trusted
News                                   The coronavirus
                                 pandemic is a global
                                   call for responsible
                                  media. Constructive
                                journalism places the
                                   focus of journalism
                                  and public attention
                                      beyond the glare
                                    of global problems
                                 and looks to address
                                    potential solutions
                                      to the challenges
                                     facing us all. Here
                                       we map out how
                                   some of the world’s
                                most significant news
                                      outlets cover the
                                  biggest health crisis
                                            of our time.

                                    Photo: Shahin Khalaji
          Annual Report                                     7
Nuancing the Narrative-CALLS FOR CONSTRUCTIVE NEWS - Constructive Institute
Constructive Institute

                       Journalism
                      During Corona
                   The Coronavirus has offered a significant challenge to the financial situation
                     of many news media but it has also been a catalyst for audiences returning
                     to trusted media sources. In the Netherlands and beyond this could be an
                      opportunity for journalists to turn towards the more constructive content
                    that their audiences have been asking for. Here Liesbeth Hermans identifies
                       several constructive principles that can be applied to news production.

WRITTEN BY LIESBETH HERMANS,
PROFESSOR, CONSTRUCTIVE JOURNALISM,
WINDESCHIEM UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES
CLICK HERE TO READ ONLINE

In the Netherlands, as in many other      the opposite. An overload of almost      often seems to direct news selection
countries, subscriptions to newspapers    identical, often superficial news,       and news coverage.
are up and more people are watching       causes people to feel restless and
television news. People return to         uncertain about what is really going     We know that exposure to negative
traditional news media in times of        on, because the context behind the       angles in news messages increases
crisis such as the corona pandemic        numbers is missing.                      negative emotions, such as fear
because they expect to get accurate                                                and anxiety. Experiencing negative
and trustworthy information.              Work by GapMinder and IPSOS Mori         emotions narrows people’s scope
                                          on the “perception gap” shows that       of attention and increases people’s
At the beginning of the Corona crisis,    the current interpretation of facts      feelings of inefficacy and lack of
combating the problem together            often does not lead to an accurate       control.
was central in most news reports.         world view. People overwhelmingly
Unfortunately, the initial shared         have a more pessimistic estimation       In contrast, findings show that
focus on solidarity, prevention, and      of issues, ranging from global poverty   exposure to constructive news
solutions seems to be giving way to       to teenage pregnancy, than the           (as compared to traditional news)
increased focus on political and social   objective reality.                       brings about the opposite and has
contradictions and disagreements.                                                  beneficial effects. According some
                                          Journalists often believe that           ongoing research of mine (soon to be
Sadly, many journalists are reverting     declining news consumption is            published) it also stimulates feelings
to prior routines in which they mainly    caused by people’s diminishing           of hope and inspiration. Further
focus on negative developments and        interest in social issues. On the        studies indicate that constructive
emphasize political conflict.             contrary my research has found that      news leads to higher engagement on
                                          young people in the Netherlands for      social issues.
DEMAND FOR CONSTRUCTIVE                   example experience a gap between
ANGLES                                    what they want and expect from           A MISUNDERSTANDING
                                          news and what journalism offers.
The demand for constructive angles                                                 Not everybody agrees with the
can prove difficult for journalists       Dutch millennials criticise news for     constructive approach. Some
trained to provide a 24 hour stream       being too elite- and institutionally     opponents think that constructive
of breaking news and new ‘facts’. This    focused and for being not being          journalism secretly means positive
practice makes it intuitive to post       relevant and valuable to their own       news, this is a misunderstanding.
continuous updates on the numbers         lives. Worldwide news avoidance          Constructive journalism motivates
of infections, deaths or economic         is growing because audiences feel        journalists to look beyond the usual
shrinkage. Yet, instead of helping        frustrated and depressed by the          problem- and conflict- oriented
people understand reality, this does      predominantly negative focus that        format and to search for additional

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Nuancing the Narrative-CALLS FOR CONSTRUCTIVE NEWS - Constructive Institute
Constructive Institute

                                                          An overload of
                                                        almost identical,
                                                        often superficial news,
                                                        causes people to feel
                                                         restless and uncertain
                                                           about what is really
                                                            going on, because
                                                             the context behind
                                                              the numbers is
                                                              missing.
                                                                       – LIESBETH HERMANS,
                                                                       PROFESSOR, WINDESCHIEM UNIVERSITY
                                                                       OF APPLIED SCIENCES

                                                 SEVEN
                                              CONSTRUCTIVE
                                               PRINCIPLES
angles such as solution- future- and                                                and to be open to new values and
action-oriented perspectives, for                                                   practices that will frame their stories
                                                • DEEPENING:
example, to try to include more                 give context and insight
                                                                                    in ways that can lead to productive
inspiring and engaging formats.               through more explanation.             change. To achieve this, a new, more
                                                                                    creative news-process is needed that
When utilizing a constructive mindset,         • EMPOWERING:                        focuses on new angles and ideas
journalists move beyond the detached            inform the public about             to replace standard modes of news
observer role to become facilitators of     existing and possible solutions         coverage.
democratic conversation. This leads to        for reported problems and
a more public-oriented journalism, in          about possibilities to take          In my article “Placing Constructive
which the audience becomes a serious                    action.                     Journalism in context” I identify
stakeholder in the news process.                                                    several principles that can be applied
                                                   • FUTURE                         in order to help journalists make
TIME TO BREAK OLD HABITS                          PERSPECTIVE:                      constructive based decisions in the
                                             inform the public beyond the
                                                                                    production of news (see list).
                                            daily events and raise attention
Today’s circumstances are a good                for long-term processes.
moment to break with old habits; a                                                  These principles should be seen as a
catalyst for reflection on how best              • INCLUSIVE:                       mix of strategies that apply in several
journalists can contribute to well-            include a broad range of             stages of the news process. They
being in society. It is an opportunity to      perspectives and sources             are not fixed tools but instruments
implement the type of news advocated          (representing the diversity           that can help journalists to broaden
by Constructive Journalism, that wants          of society) and provide             their mindset and attitude towards
to provide citizens with contextual          information that contributes           journalism.
news on social issues, without over-              to public dialogue.
emphasizing the sensational and what                                                The corona era has shown us that
goes wrong.                                    • COOPERATIVE:                       the news remains indispensable
                                             involve citizens actively in the       and clarifies how important quality
                                                     news process.
It critically questions journalists who                                             journalism is to understand both
solely focus on problematic angles in                                               the global and the local impact of
                                                 • INSPIRING:
stories and who (disproportionately)          give attention to positive
                                                                                    the major issues society faces. More
represent institutions, and the logic of    examples and developments.              constructive journalism will only
power.                                                                              strengthen citizens’ engagement
                                               • TRANSPARENT:                       and mutual understanding, whilst
Constructive Journalism calls for               be accountable for your             enhancing the role of journalism in
journalists to change their mindset            choices and their impact.            our democracies.

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Nuancing the Narrative-CALLS FOR CONSTRUCTIVE NEWS - Constructive Institute
Constructive Institute

 COVERING CORONA CONSTRUCTIVELY

                                              WORDS MATTER

                                                                                                  Photo: Florian Steffen

 How to cover Corona? Based on                address nuance, context and hope.        reporting are essential for covering
 great journalism from around the             The time is now to show why              the pandemic of the coronavirus.
 world we examine how to apply                journalism is essential to audiences,
 the principles of constructive               society and democracy.                    These two modes of reporting use
 journalism as an additional                                                           critical journalism in order to inform
                                              The coronavirus pandemic is a global     news audiences around the world and
 element when reporting on the
                                              call for responsible journalism.         hold the people in power responsible
 coronavirus.
                                              Constructive journalism is a mindset     for their actions, or lack of action.
                                              which places the focus of journalism
 DRAMA OR NUANCE
                                              and public attention beyond the          In what way could the principles
 Words matter. In this grave international    glare of global problems and looks       of constructive journalism offer
 crisis they are absolutely necessary.        to address potential solutions to the    additional elements when covering the
 Just take a moment to consider the two       challenges facing us all.                coronavirus?
 headlines below.
                                              AN ADD-ON TO BREAKING NEWS               Constructive journalism is based on
 “Many Loved Ones Will Die“                   AND INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM             three pillars and here are 3 examples
 “Together We Can Save Many Lives“                                                     of how these principles could be used
                                              Constructive journalism compliments      in covering the evolving pandemic.
 With journalism acting as a filter between   the two major modes of news              Some of the recommendations may
 reality and the public perception of         reporting: Breaking news and             seem to be simply good, thorough,
 reality journalists must ask themselves if   Investigative journalism (see opposite   critical and balanced journalism but
 they want to angle their coverage solely     page). It goes without saying that       that is essentially what constructive
 on the drama of news stories or instead      both breaking news and investigative     journalism is all about.

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Constructive Institute

P I L L AR 1                                 P I L L AR 2                                    P I L L AR 3
FOCUS ON                                     COVER                                           PROMOTE DEMOCRATIC
SOLUTIONS                                    NUANCES                                         CONVERSATION
Report not only on the problems              Strive for the best obtainable                  Engage and facilitate debate.
but also look for possible solutions.        version of the truth.

     G L O B AL H U B
     F O R G R E AT
     J O U R N AL I S M
     FOR MORE GREAT
     EXAMPLES ON HOW
     TO COVER CORONA
     VISIT OUR WEBSITE’S
     HOW TO SECTION.
     CLICK MAP TO VISIT.

                                         1                          2                    3

     E X AM P L E P I L L AR 1                  E X AM P L E P I L L AR 2                       E X AM P L E P I L L AR 3

MEDIA                                        MEDIA                                           MEDIA
THE BBC                                      DIE WELT                                        THE NEW YORK TIMES

C O U N T RY                                 C O U N T RY                                    C O U N T RY
UK                                           GERMANY                                         USA

J O U R N AL I S T S                         J O U R N AL I S T S                            J O U R N AL I S T
HARRIET AGERHOLM,                            DANIEL ECKERT &                                 JESSICA GROSE
JAMES LAW &                                  HOLGER ZSCHÄPITZ
JENNIFER MEIERHANS                                                                           T H E S T O RY
                                             T H E S T O RY                                  Based on questions from readers
T H E S T O RY                               Die Welt cover nuances with a                   (via an interactive tool for questions)
The BBC devotes entire segment               Historical Perspective. Thus this article       the New York Times gets help from
for possible solutions to corona.            zooms out to the macro view of the              doctors, public officials and other
The journalists have gathered a              crisis and its global economic impact.          experts to answer many of the
number of stories that show how              Using a historical perspective the              questions parents have about public
people are helping each other and            journalists describes the three big             playgrounds, visiting grandparents,
finding solutions in response to the         financial crashes of the last 100 years         general hygiene, birthday parties,
coronavirus.                                 and tries to identify some learning             testing, homemade hand sanitizer and
                                             points.                                         more.

AN ADD - O N T O B R E AK I N G N E W S & I N V E S T I G AT I V E J O U R N AL I S M

                                                            Annual Report                                                          11
Constructive Institute

 New Report:
                                                                               A S U M M ARY O F T H E M O S T
                                                                               I M P O R TAN T F I N D I N G S
                                                                               F R O M O U R R E S E AR C H

 Danes                                                                         16% of Danes periodically avoid news.

 Ask for
                                                                               People who report that news often
                                                                               makes them feel bad and who think that
                                                                               the media focus too much on conflict
                                                                               are more prone to avoid news. News

 Constructive
                                                                               avoiders use traditional media sources
                                                                               less compared to non- avoiders. Instead,
                                                                               avoiders use social media and streaming

 News
                                                                               as their source of news.

                                                                                                    •

                                                                               A third of the population feel that news
                                                                               often puts them in a bad mood. More
                                                                               than half of the population believes that
                                                                               news focuses more on negative than
                                                                               positive perspectives on events. Almost
                                                                               six out of ten Danes think that far too
                                                                               much news focuses on conflict.
                         EXCERPTS FROM THE REPORT
                         ‘NEWS EXPERIENCES AND OPINIONS IN DENMARK 2020’
                                                                                                    •
                         CLICK REPORT READ IN FULL.
                                                                               News credibility in Denmark is lukewarm.
                         WRITTEN BY                                            Around a quarter of Danes agree that the
                         PETER DAMGAARD, CONSTRUCTIVE INSTITUTE                media paint a fair and accurate picture of
                         HANS HENRIK KNOOP, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, AU            the world. News credibility varies across
                                                                               segments of the population.

 We have asked the Danish analytics company Epinion                                                 •
 to conduct an independent and representative study
                                                                               68% of Danes would prefer news that
 on “news experiences and opinions” among more than
                                                                               focuses more on illuminating a case from
 2000 Danish citizens. The survey was made possible                            different perspectives, on informing about
 with support from the Salling Foundations as part of the                      solutions to societal problems (58%) and
 Constructive News Lab.                                                        on inspiring action (51%).

                                                                                                    •
 The report investigates current media
 trends with a profound focus on news                                          57% of Danes would prefer to read a
 credibility, perceptions of news negativity                                   news article with a constructive rather
 and the tendency of some to avoid news.                                       than a conventional news headline.

 More specifically, the report looks at                                                             •
 how Danes perceive the news media,
 and we use this to get an impression                                          People who read a constructive
 of the current state of the news. This is                                     newspaper article are less inclined to feel
 important in identifying what problems                                        uncomfortable and more likely to agree
 the broader population are seeing in the                                      that ‘the world needs more articles of
 media. Next, the report tests whether the                                     this kind’ compared to a control group
 constructive news paradigm is a potential                                     who read a conventional article about the
 solution to some of the issues raised.                                        same topic.
                                                                                                    •
 Specifically we test if there is a demand
 for constructive news and if reading                                          People high in the trait neuroticism, who
 constructive news content is any different                                    are generally more prone to negative
 from reading conventional news.                                               thoughts, are more likely to avoid news
                                                                               and less likely to think that following news
 Lastly, the report provides novel evidence                                    is important. People who are agreeable or
 on the effect of the corona outbreak on                                       conscientious tend to think that following
 Danes’ opinions and behavior towards                                          the news is important but are more likely
 news.                                                                         to experience today’s news as too conflict
                                                                               oriented.

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Constructive Institute

                      When left with a choice
                   we see that a majority will
                   choose a headline with a
                   constructive angle even
                   though conventional wisdom
                   is that ‘if it bleeds, it leads’.
                                                                   – PETER DAMGAARD,
                                                               CONSTRUCTIVE INSTITUTE

                                                                        KEY FINDINGS

                              57%                                            58%                                                  68%
                      of the time, Danes prefer a                  of Danes say that news focuses                    of Danes want the news to focus
                   story with a constructive heading                    too much on conflict                         more on Illuminating a case from
                                                                                                                          several different sides

F I G U R E : N E W S FO C U S O N                                                               F I G U R E : N E W S AVO I DAN C E
N E G AT I V I T Y AN D C O N F L I C T                                                          I N T H E DAN I S H P O P U L AT I O N

                   2%
                        4%                                                                          16%                6%
                                                                                                                             2%

              8%                      39%                                                   periodically
                                                                                           avoids news                                              43%
                                                                                                                 10%

     28%
                                                                                                                   17%
                                                       58%
                                                       agree that too
                                       19%             much news
                                                       focuses on                                                                         22%
                                                       conflict

   Agree              Partly agree      Neither agree nor                                           Agree              Partly agree        Neither agree nor
   (39%)              (19%)             disagree (28%)                                              (6%)               (10%)               disagree (17%)

   Disagree           Partly            Don’t know (4%)                                             Disagree           Partly              Don’t know (2%)
   (2%)               disagree (8%)                                                                 (43%)              disagree (22%)

N=2.014                                                                                          N=2.014
Wording: How much do you                                                                         Wording: How much do you agree or
agree or disagree with the                                                                       disagree with the following statement:
following statement ...                                                                          I periodically try to avoid news.

                                                                    Perceiving a more truthful and fairer
                                                              blend of negative and positive news would
                                                               not only help people make better sense of
                                                             the world, it would significantly strengthen
                                                                    journalism by improved public trust.
                                                                                                             – HANS HENRIK KNOOP,
                                                                                            ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, AARHUS UNIVERSITY

                                                                           Annual Report                                                                       13
Constructive Institute

               Solutions to News
                   Avoidance
                     News avoidance is considered an increasing problem for the news industry
                       and democracy at large. As news companies lose consumers, democracy
                     loses the informed foundation for an engaged citizenry. Meanwhile, research
                      on news avoidance is hampered by the lack of a common understanding of
                                                  the phenomenon.

WRITTEN BY MORTEN SKOVSGAARD, PROFESSOR WSR,
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN DENMARK
KIM ANDERSEN, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF
SOUTHERN DENMARK AND UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG

News avoidance is a problem for the         sell subscriptions and maintain their      such news has a negative impact on
news media as well as for democracy at      societal relevance. But news avoidance     their mood and their well-being. A
large. So what can be done to engage        is also a problem for democracy.”          subsequent feeling of powerlessness
people in news coverage? Among                                                         makes them change the channel, turn
other things, constructive, fact-based,     UNINTENTIONAL AND INTENTIONAL              off the television, drop the newspaper,
transparent, and slow news may be           NEWS AVOIDANCE                             or delete the news app.
possible solutions.
                                            News avoidance has a number
More news is available now than ever        of different causes and, as a                 Constructive
                                                                                        news is one
before. Still, a significant amount of      consequence, also a number of
people consume no, or a very limited,       potential solutions that are dependent
amount of news and even amongst
those who are regular audiences a
                                            on actions from different stakeholders.
                                            In a study recently published in the        possible way to
substantial proportion answer that they
sometimes or often avoid news content.
                                            international journal Journalism Studies
                                            we have reviewed and classified the         avoid people
Furthermore, studies indicate that news
avoidance is growing over time despite
                                            different causes and potential solutions
                                            related to two types of news avoidance
                                                                                        turning their backs
an increasing supply of journalism          – intentional and unintentional.            on the news due to
                                                                                        its negative focus.
output.
                                            Contrary to unintentional news
News avoidance is a problem for             avoidance, which we will return to
the traditional news media. News            below, intentional news avoidance            – MORTEN SKOVSGAARD
                                                                                         & KIM ANDERSEN
organisations need readers, listeners, or   is based on an active and deliberate
viewers to generate advertising revenues,   choice to avoid news. Studies show that
sell subscriptions and maintain their       when people actively avoid the news        Constructive news is one possible way
societal relevance.                         they often do so because they find the     to avoid people turning their backs
                                            news too negative, because they do         on the news due to its negative focus.
But news avoidance is also a problem        not trust the news, or because they        The idea behind constructive news
for democracy. In general, news             feel overloaded by the magnitude of        is to not only address problems and
consumption has a positive impact           available news.                            shortcomings but also the solutions
on people’s knowledge of society and                                                   and positive examples that can serve
politics as well as on their political      NEGATIVE NEWS                              as inspiration for how to handle
engagement and participation. So, how                                                  challenges.
do we encourage people to participate       It cannot come as a surprise that
in the news cycle? It would be great if a   many people feel that the news is too      The aim of this more balanced
simple answer to that question existed.     negative. It is next to impossible to      approach to journalism is to
                                            tune into a television news broadcast,     replace the feeling of distress and
“News avoidance is a problem for            click onto a news website, or open a       powerlessness with a feeling of hope
the traditional news media. News            newspaper without being confronted         and a sense of being able to make a
organisations need readers, listeners, or   with war, crime, scandals, natural         difference in society.
viewers to generate advertising revenues,   disasters, and suffering. For some,

14                                                        Annual Report
Constructive Institute

                                                            News organisations
                                                           need readers, listeners,
                                                           or viewers to generate
                                                          advertising revenues,
                                                          sell subscriptions and
                                                         maintain their societal
                                                         relevance. But news
                                                         avoidance is also a problem
                                                         for democracy.
                                                           – MORTEN SKOVSGAARD,
                                                           PROFESSOR WSR, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN DENMARK

Constructive journalism has gained          To counter this cause of news               develop so-called public service
traction in recent years, in Denmark        avoidance, news media would have to         algorithms. These algorithms ensure
for instance several news media             put a break on the accelerating news        that people are presented with trusted,
have introduced constructive news           cycle, offering news which explains         quality news when they stream their
in particular programs or sections of       the context behind headlines. News          favourite entertainment show on
programs. The regional television station   overviews that make it easier to identify   demand or when they browse through
TV 2/Fyn is even working to implement       the most important news stories of          their social media feed.
a constructive mindset amongst all          the day would also attract these news
journalists to ensure that constructive     avoiders. This can be done in different     WHO CAN SOLVE THE PROBLEM?
news stories will blend with news           ways. Some of the traditional media are
stories that focus on problems and          now producing newsletters that outline      In consequence, the potential to
shortcomings                                the most important stories of the day       counter intentional news avoidance
                                            or daily news podcasts that go in-depth     primarily lies with journalists and the
MISTRUST IN MEDIA                           with one or a few new stories and           news media. Editorial teams are able
                                            provide further context. An example of      to change news content to make it
Low trust in news media and journalists     this is The Daily by the New York Times.    less negative and more constructive;
has also been recurrent issue in recent     There is also a trend towards the rise      less opinionated, more fact-based and
years. For some, the trust in news is       of digital born slow news media which       transparent; and less overwhelming,
so low that they tune out completely.       focus on a few stories each day. These      more contextualized and slower. The
Often, low trust in news media is caused    news providers offer long-format in-        potential to counter unintentional
by a perception that journalists are not    depth journalism that contextualize the     news avoidance to a larger extent
neutral and do not report the truth. One    issues more extensively than regular        lies with the owners and manager
way that news media can potentially         news. Some examples of these are            of media corporations, social media
change this perception is to make a         the Dutch De Correspondent, British         platforms and politicians. Multipurpose
clear distinction between opinion and       Tortoise Media or Zetland in Denmark.       media organisations and social media
journalism based on indisputable facts.                                                 companies can decide to develop
Another potential way to increase trust     UNINTENTIONAL NEWS AVOIDANCE                public service algorithms or other
among news users is to increase the                                                     opportunity structures conducive of
transparency in order for people to         For those who unintentionally avoid         incidental news exposure. In turn
check the information included in the       news, the underlying causes are             politicians can decide to support the
journalism and learn how reporters          different. They do not turn their           media companies developing such
constructed the news story.                 backs on news based on a specific           opportunity structures.
                                            dislike of news or certain aspects of
AN OVERWHELMING NEWS FLOW                   news. However, when the supply of           It is crucial that journalists, media
                                            media content increases dramatically,       managers, and politicians all make an
A third reason why people turn their        it is much easier for people to pick        effort to counter news avoidance in
backs to the news is that they find the     exactly the content that meets their        order to ensure that the citizenry is as
stream of news stories overwhelming.        preferences. Thus, this type of news        well-informed as possible. However, if
The 24-hour television channels or the      avoidance is—rather than an active          they are to succeed it is also important
news websites constantly offer updates      rejection of news—based on a choice         that the citizens reward their efforts.
on the latest developments across           of other types of media content—often       Citizens can also help to counter news
several news stories. While some enjoy      entertainment—that in effect crowds         avoidance by supporting constructive,
the almost endless supply of news,          out news consumption.                       fact-based and transparent, and slow
others have the sense of being hit by a                                                 and contextualized journalism.
news tsunami that is hard to manage.        One possible way of alleviating this
                                            unintentional news avoidance is to

                                                          Annual Report                                                            15
Constructive Institute

       Perhaps,
     we journalists
     took a wrong
          turn

16           Annual Report
Constructive Institute

 What about ...
 A journalism
for tomorrow?

          Watch our explainer
    ‘The World Needs Better News’
click to visit constructiveinstitute.org

                Annual Report              17
Constructive Institute

     How To Do                                                       P I L L AR

     Constructive
                                                                     1: SOLUTIONS

                                                                     MEDIA

     Journalism?
                                                                     THE UPSIDE,
                                                                     THE GUARDIAN (UK)

                                                                     S U M M ARY
     ‘HOW TO’ IS A SERIES OF BEST PRACTICE ARTICLES SHOWCASING HOW   HOW TO
     THE WORLD’S LEADING MEDIA HOUSES WORK WITH CONSTRUCTIVE         EDIT A STREAM
     JOURNALISM. HERE WE PRESENT A SELECTION BASED ON OUR THREE      OF CONSTRUCTIVE
     PILLARS, SOLUTIONS, NUANCE, CONVERSATION                        STORIES

                                                                     The Upside is the Guardian’s
                                                                     constructive journalism “stream”.
                                                                     It is solution-focused reporting
       Dive into                                                     “that seeks out answers,
                                                                     solutions, movements and

       our compiled                                                  initiatives to address the biggest
                                                                     problems besetting the world”.

       best examples
       of constructive
       journalism
       from all over
       the world.
                                                                     P I L L AR
                                                                     2: NUANCES
        CLICK MAP FOR MORE
        ONLINE EXAMPLES.                                             MEDIA
                                                                     BERLINGSKE
                                                                     NUANCERER,
                                                                     BERLINGSKE (DK)

                                                                     S U M M ARY
                                                                     HOW TO
                                                                     EMBRACE NUANCE IN
                                                                     POLITICAL COVERAGE
                                                                     “We wanted to show that reality
                                                                     is often not black and white,
                                                                     it can be grey and must have
                                                                     nuances in order to be real,”
                                                                     Editor-in-Chief at Berlingske
                                                                     Mette Østergaard says.

                                                                     P I L L AR
                                                                     3: CONVERSATION

                                                                     MEDIA
                                                                     EINIG?,
                                                                     NRK (NO)

                                                                     S U M M ARY
                                                                     HOW TO
                                                                     HOST A CIVIL AND
                                                                     CURIOUS POLITICAL
                                                                     DEBATE SHOW
                                                                     The national broadcaster NRK
                                                                     launched a political debate
                                                                     show with a difference. With
                                                                     this format guests find points
                                                                     of connection and agreement
                                                                     rather than look for ways to
                                                                     discredit one another.

18                                         Annual Report
Constructive Institute

                                          How To
P I L L AR
1: SOLUTIONS

                                          Edit ‘A Stream’ of
MEDIA
THE UPSIDE,
THE GUARDIAN

C O U N T RY
UK                                        Constructive
                                          Stories
T O L D T O C I BY
MARK RICE-OXLEY
EDITOR,
THE UPSIDE

                                          The Upside is the Guardian’s                    SOLUTIONS FROM THE DEMOCRATIC
                                          constructive journalism “stream”.               REPUBLIC OF CONGO
                                          It is solutions focused reporting
                                          “that seeks out answers, solutions,             In 2019 a piece commissioned and
                                                                                          produced for the Upside stream won
                                          movements and initiatives to                    the Journalism of Tomorrow award
                                          address the biggest problems                    presented by the Constructive Institute
                                          besetting the world”.                           and the Solutions Journalism Network.
 The media                                                                                The piece was written by Guardian Health
                                                                                          Editor Sarah Bosely in collaboration
must recognise                            HOW THEY DID IT                                 with photographer David Levene and

it reflects the
                                                                                          video producer Millie Harvey and was an
                                          The driving force behind the series is editor   investigation into how the Democratic
                                          Mark Rice-Oxley. Mark embarked on the
world we live
                                                                                          Republic of the Congo has all but
                                          project in 2018 because it was “urgently        defeated sleeping sickness.

in… When
                                          needed in a world where a surfeit of dismal
                                          news is demoralising audiences as never         Accepting the award, Sarah Boseley
we report                                 before.”                                        noted that “Most of the media think
                                                                                          that stories have to be about something
progress,                                 The constructive focus of the Upside was
                                          championed by the Guardian’s editor-in-
                                                                                          terrible that is happening and it’s only

more progress
                                                                                          very occasionally that you can turn the
                                          chief, Katharine Viner in her 2017 speech       tables and say, yes, there are terrible
                                          sketching out the future of the newspaper.
ensues. What
                                                                                          things happening, but within that there
                                          Katharine promised that “we will develop        are some fantastic things too and maybe

better way to
                                          ideas that help improve the world, not just     we should look to the positive.”
                                          critique it. Despair is just another form of

change the                                denial. People long to feel hopeful again –
                                          and young people, especially, yearn to feel
                                                                                          CONNECTING WITH AUDIENCES

world?                                    the hope that previous generations once
                                          had.” You can listen to Katharine’s thoughts
                                                                                          The Upside has sought to deepen
                                                                                          the connection between readers and
    – MARK RICE-OXLEY,                    on “A mission for journalism in a time of       subjects through a weekly newsletter of
    EDITOR, THE UPSIDE                    crisis”.                                        over 30,000 subscribers. Mark stresses
                                                                                          the importance of proactively engaging
                                          Mark started with an experiment to              with recipients of the newsletter by
                                          discover whether Guardian readers had an        asking teasing questions and offering
THE UPSIDE’S                              appetite for solutions focused journalism.      a straightforward method of replying.
GROUND RULES                              After 18 months and 150+ articles he and        These efforts have been rewarded with
                                          his fellow journalists found that there         several good solutions story tips.
•    LOOK FOR SOLUTIONS FOR THE           was significant audience engagement in
     BIG CHALLENGES OF OUR TIME           journalism that “sought out the good things
     Upside stories are not PR. They                                                      Output for the series has been primarily
                                          happening in the world”.                        focused on text articles but earlier in
     look for solutions that appear
     replicable, robust and confront                                                      June 2020 Mark launched his inaugural
     the big challenges of our times,     Readers spent longer on the articles, often     Upside: In Conversation live stream
     e.g. the environment, atomised       reading until the end, and around 1 in 10       (record and now available online -see
     communities, flagging democracy      shared the stories on social media. There       constructiveinstitute.org for more).
     etc.                                 was also a significant volume of responses
                                          and enthusiastic messages from readers          Introducing the discussion Mark
•    GO THAT EXTRA MILE                   asking for more constructive reporting.
     Efforts are made to find and
                                                                                          explained that just as with the Upside’s
     speak with the communities                                                           articles the aim for the conversations
                                          The Upside was launched with funding            are “Hope, potential, ideas and solutions,
     working to address the significant
     problems. The aim is to report
                                          from the Skoll Foundation in order to           anything really that can give us a dose
     on places, their reporters rarely    commit more deeply to a solutions focused       of optimism in challenging times.”
     visit, broadening reach and          stream of content. This funding has now         Depending on the reaction from the
     understanding both for the           dried up but the Upside continues.              audience they may be planning more.
     journalists and their reader.

                                                                Annual Report                                                          19
Constructive Institute

     How To
                                                                                                       P I L L AR
                                                                                                       2: NUANCES

     Embrace Nuance
                                                                                                       MEDIA
                                                                                                       BERLINGSKE
                                                                                                       NUANCERER,

     in Political
                                                                                                       BERLINGSKE

                                                                                                       C O U N T RY
                                                                                                       DENMARK

     Coverage                                                                                          T O L D T O C I BY
                                                                                                       METTE ØSTERGAARD
                                                                                                       EDITOR-IN-CHIEF,
                                                                                                       BERLINGSKE
     Berlingske Nuancerer takes a                    Normally headlines at the paper are
     deep dive into the central topics               a conclusion to the story and give a
     discussed by Danish politicians and             particular angle. The team wanted to
     voters. The project goes beyond                 keep them open for Nuancerer. With no
                                                     conclusion in the headline the reader
     fact checking what is correct and               needs to dig into the content and decide
     incorrect to explore the nuances                their own opinion.
     of central questions in political
     debate. Important questions are                 The tone is authoritative and factual with
     unpacked, experts are consulted
     but politicians are left out of the
                                                     very few quotes, they aren’t opinion piece
                                                     and are a “politician free zone”.                  We wanted
     conversation.
                                                     Once the Berlingske journalists have
                                                                                                       to show that
     HOW THEY DID IT                                 written a first draft of the article it is then   reality is often
                                                                                                       not black and
                                                     read by a team of external experts who
     The respected Danish Daily newspaper            further fine tune the piece and correct

                                                                                                       white, it can be
     Berlingske wanted to approach the 2019          any assumptions or inaccuracies.
     Danish election with a different tactic.
     Editor-in-Chief Mette Østergaard felt that in
     the past journalists had been manipulated
                                                     Each article is accompanied by a
                                                     drawing sketched by the same illustrator          grey and must
     by politicians who successfully twisted facts
     to support their agendas.
                                                     using a style distinct from the rest of
                                                     the newspaper. The team never uses
                                                                                                       have nuances
                                                     reportage photographs for example,                in order to be
                                                                                                       real.
     Inspired by a project in the Swedish            Nuancerer always has another look
     newspaper Dagens Nyheter Mette and              and feel to the rest of the paper. For
     her colleagues invited the project lead         some stories there is a video explainer,
     to travel to Copenhagen and share some          these are heavy production and only                   – METTE ØSTERGAARD,
                                                                                                           EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, BERLINGSKE
     inspiration. Off the back of that meeting       accompany stories which hold sustained
     the Berlingske team then developed              interest for their readers.
     Berlingske Nuancerer (Berlingske Nuances)
     a new editorial concept where every story       Berlingske Nuancerer is managed by a
     starts with a question taken from the most      data journalist, Philip Sune Dam, who             THE KEY
     important issues discussed in political         takes a deep dive into the statistics and         TAK E AWAY S
     debate.                                         dissects the numbers. Questions that
                                                     have been tackled so far have ranged              •    TRUTH IS NOT BLACK AND WHITE
     The topics covered are high on the agenda       from “Is the integration of non-western                Sometimes the truth is not black
                                                     immigrants a failure?” to “Does Demark                 and white, and audiences distrust
     for the average Danish voter and citizen.
                                                                                                            journalism that depicts the world
     Each question is answered by exploring the      have the highest tax burden in the
                                                                                                            through a simplistic lens.
     complexity of the topics thereby offering a     world?”
     more precise response for their readers.                                                          •    AUDIENCES SHOWED INTEREST
     The aim is to re-examine allegations,           REACHED NEW READERS                                    IN DEEPER COMPLEXITY
     accepted truths and uncritical use of facts.                                                           Counterintuitively, audiences
     It is “a way of giving people new eyes on       The project has had a great response                   welcome an opportunity to delve
     a topic that they previously thought they       both for reads and engagement but also                 into complex issues without neat
     knew what the conclusion was,” says Mette       by persuading new readers to subscribe                 answers.
     Østergaard.                                     to the news website. It has been a
                                                     valuable tool for branding, showing that          •    OFFERS SPECIALISED INSIGHTS
                                                                                                            Giving external experts an
     The paper put together a team of a              “Berlingske is a quality paper that isn’t
                                                                                                            editorial role offers specialised
     data journalist, 3 text reporters a video       interested in doing just click bait” says              insights and integrity to the
     journalist and an editor to drive the stories   Mette Østergaard.                                      journalism.
     through. Together these journalists build
     out stories with new clearly identifiable       With the success of the concept the               •    REQUIRES MAN POWER
     elements.                                       editorial team is now continuing                       AND TIME
                                                     Berlingske Nuancerer beyond the                        Projects such as Berlingske
                                                     elections publishing a couple of Nuances               Nuancerer require extra
     NEW TOOLS TO OPEN UP FORMAT
                                                                                                            resources in terms of man
     Each headline always asks a question.           every month.
                                                                                                            power and time.

20                                                           Annual Report
Constructive Institute

                                          How To
P I L L AR
3: CONVERSATION

                                          Host A Civil
MEDIA
EINIG?,
NRK

C O U N T RY
NORWAY                                    And Curious
                                          Political Debate Show
T O L D T O C I BY
GRO ENGEN
EDITOR,
EINIG?
                                          Einig? Or “Agreed?” in Norwegian               attacks, being argumentative and listing
                                          aims to change the culture of                  political agenda points without regard
                                          polarizing political discussion.               to what other guests are contributing
                                          The national broadcaster NRK                   are all frowned upon. The editorial team
                                                                                         also offers advice on how to lead a
                                          launched a political debate show               constructive conversation, encouraging
                                          with a difference, with this format            guests to ask questions about each
                                          guests find points of connection               other’s views and to be curious.
  For politicians                         and agreement rather than look for
                                          ways to discredit one another.
entering
                                                                                         Panelists are not given the questions
                                                                                         ahead of time but instead discuss
traditional TV                            HOW THEY DID IT                                thought provoking statements that are
                                                                                         read off a screen in the studio. This
debates it is like                        Einig? Is a prime-time politics show with a
                                          difference. The aim of the program is to
                                                                                         means no one has prepared talking
                                                                                         points with their communications teams
winning a match.                          reverse the toxicity that disfigures public    and political language is avoided by all.

When they
                                          discourse and to avoid shows where
                                          the conversations ends as it began, with       The program is recorded in garage at
decide it’s about                         nothing being learnt. The team found that
                                          many viewers, particularly those under
                                                                                         NRK rather than a traditional election
                                                                                         campaign studio because the team want
“winning” then                            the age of 50, had given up on debate
                                          programs and were tired of politicians
                                                                                         to strip away the glamour and drama.

their objective                           arguing and interrupting each other.           “We found that the panelists were more

is not to inform
                                                                                         civil and real with each other when the
                                          The show’s website explains their              cameras were off and they were having a
viewers about                             philosophy stating that “TV debates are
                                          often a battle to be won, but to some
                                                                                         coffee, we want to re-create that type of
                                                                                         atmosphere”, Engen says.
political issues or                       extent the same participants must listen to
                                          each other, not interrupt and must try to      ABSENCE OF HOST OPENS UP
find resolutions                          understand the opponent. What happens          DISCUSSIONS

to problems.
                                          then?” According to the Times of London
                                          “This approach has led to outbreak and         The team also experimented with
                                          generosity and accord from across the          removing the host from the studio
    – GRO ENGEN,
    EDITOR, EINIG?, NRK                   political spectrum”.                           and leaving the guests to take the
                                                                                         responsibility for their own conversation
                                          In an effort to change the status quo          and conduct.
                                          a number of standard practices for
THE KEY                                   Norwegian debate shows have been               The aim is to open up new kinds of
TAK E AWAY S                              changed at Einig?.                             discussion when politicians are taken
                                                                                         away from the comfort of traditional
•    NEW DEBATE CULTURE                   For a start the program team chooses           confrontational formats and the
     Audiences, particularly young        politicians that they believe are capable of   journalist in the room isn’t acting as a
     audiences, want a new kind of
                                          abandoning political posturing and point       judge to moderate behaviour.
     political debate format. They are
     tired of the blame and shame
                                          scoring in order to have an open and
     culture.                             honest conversation.                           All this doesn’t mean that the program
                                                                                         doesn’t tackle divisive and controversial
•    CALM AND CURIOUS                     After many years working in the political      topics, so far they have explored
     Politicians are capable of calm      debates the program’s editor Gro Engen         immigration, abortion, climate, economy
     and curious discussion, if they      knows who those individuals are.               and tax.
     are offered a venue in which to
     discuss their views.                 UNACCEPTABLE ELEMENTS EDITED OUT               The conflict between those with different
                                                                                         political standpoints remain but the hope
•    IN DEPTH ANALYSIS ON AIR
     Political discussions offer more
                                          A lot of time and preparation is then          is that they may learn from one another.
     information and in depth analysis    spent with the guests before they take         Gro’s advice to politicians “Relax, listen to
     for audiences without the conflict   part explaining what is unacceptable in        the questions and think. Just be yourself,
     and point scoring.                   the show and will be edited out. Personal      that’s what voters want.”

                                                                Annual Report                                                            21
Constructive Institute
                                                                                                                       Journalists from
                                                                                                                      around the world
                                                                                                                          signed up for
                                                                                                                       our Constructive

                         OUR GLOBAL
                                                                                                                     Journalism Master
                                                                                                                        Class hosted at
                                                                                                                     Aarhus University,
                                                                                                                             in Aarhus,
                                                                                                                              Denmark.

                         CONSTRUCTIVE
                         MASTERCLASS

 Photo: Peter Damgaard

 The Constructive          The idea of constructive           Gro Engen is Editor of the       international constructive
                           journalism is spreading            debate program “Einig?”          fellowship program. So how
 Journalism Master         quickly all over Europe. But       at NRK, that renewed the         do you change the culture of
 Class took place in       why is it important, what do       political debate.                journalism?
 Aarhus at Aarhus          we actually know of how to
 University, Denmark       do constructive journalism,        Often TV-debates are a battle    Kristina Lund Jørgensen,
                           how it is introduced in            that must be won. But what if    editor at TV2 Fyn is
 and brought               different formats for              the partipants in the debate     constructive editor of the
 together participants     different platforms and            must listen to the others, may   regional Danish TV-station.
 from around the           how the audiences react to         not interrupt and must try to    She was appointed with the
 world. We are proud       constructive stories?              understand the opponent –
                                                              what happens then?
                                                                                               exact purpose of turning the
                                                                                               TV-station into a constructive
 that so many media        Those were some of the                                              news media and was given
 professionals took        questions participants were        Annette Hoth of Zweites          free hands to put that
 the time to attend        invited to learn more about        Deutsches Fernsehen, ZDF,        concept of constructive
 the master class          at the two day master class        has been a commissioning         journalism into the daily news
                           hosted at Aarhus University.       editor for „plan b“ since        flow. How do you do such a
 and discuss how           In the following we take you       the program went on air          turn around of a news media?
 journalism can be         through the main topics from       two years ago, being the
 improved for a            some of the front runners in       first constructive TV format     Gerd Maria May has her
                           constructive journalism.           in Germany. As one of the        own company, Room of
 better tomorrow.                                             creators of „plan b“, she is     Solutions and has developed
                           Anne Lagercrantz , head of         committed to continuously        an entire new concept of
                           News and Sports at Swedish         developing a successful TV       local journalism, including
                           Television, SVT, since 2015.       approach to constructive         the enganging of local high
                           SVT is going through a             journalism.                      school students and she is
                           digital transformation. With                                        writing a book about a new
                           success: the number of first-      Ulrik Haagerup, founder and      ways of looking at the role of
                           time-voters who considers          CEO of Constructive Institute,   journalism.
                           the digital offer of SVT as        Aarhus. The institute has the
                           trustworthy, has increased         goal of changing the global      Orla Borg, Head of Fellowship
                           from 54 percent to 74              news culture in five years by    Program at Constructive
                           percent. SVT News is listed        three means:                     Institute, was an investigative
                           as one of Sweden’s most            Passing on new knowledge         journalist before joining
                           purposeful digital brands          of research, education           Constructive Institute. He has
                           this year and for two years        material and new concepts,       been working with defining
                           in a row they are the fastest      giving new inspiration           and developing constructive
                           growing digital news site in       through conferences, global      stories and presents answers
                           Sweden. What did it take to        seminars and keynotes and        to the question: So how
                           get there?                         by creating new journalistic     could journalists actually do
                                                              role models through an           constructive stories?

22                                                   Annual Report
Constructive Institute

CONSTRUCTIVE MASTER CLASS MOMENTS

GERD MARIA MAY,                        KRISTINA LUND                           ANNE LAGERKRANTZ,
CEO AND FOUNDER,                       JØRGENSEN,                              HEAD OF NEWS AND
ROOM OF SOLUTIONS                      CONSTRUCTIVE EDITOR,                    SPORTS,
                                       REGIONAL TV-STATION                     SWEDISH TELEVISION, SVT
Former fellow Gerd Maria May CEO       TV2 FYN
and founder of Room of Solutions                                               “I feel like I’m part of a global
introduced the audience to her         How do you change the culture           movement, and I’m so inspired by
analysis of a local news media’s       of a TV- station and introduce          the knowledge in this room.”
efforts to engage and empower the      constructive journalism?                This was the main output Head
citizens of their community. In the    Constructive Editor at TV2 Fyn          of News and Sports at SVT Anne
presentation it became clear that      and former fellow Kristina Lund         Lagercrantz took with her from our
the constructive news strategy not     Jørgensen presented her strategy        Constructive Master Class this year
only effected its readers positively   for the transistion of the news         when she gave her presentation
but also the staff at the local        room at the regional tv-station.        of the digital transformation that
newspaper.                                                                     the Swedish broadcaster has gone
                                                                               through.

ORLA BORG,                             GRO ENGEN,                              ANNETTE HOTH,
HEAD OF FELLOWSHIP                     EDITOR, “EINIG?”,                       COMMISIONING EDITOR,
PROGRAM,                               NORWEGIAN                               PLAN B, ZDF
CONSTRUCTIVE INSTITUTE                 BROADCASTING
                                       CORPORATION, NRK                        In Annette Hoth’s presentation
Our Head of Fellowship Orla Borg                                               of ZDF’s constructive TV show
gave an introduction to ‘Three         The Editor of the Norwegian debate      ‘Plan B’ that zooms in on solutions
Ways of Constructive Journalism’,      show “Einig?“, (“Agreed?” in English)   to societal issues, the editor
taking the participants through the    talked about renewing the public        presented the case on how to
more practical part of the Master      debate on TV through a completely       make a constructive TV format a
Class digging into ‘how to do it’.     new concept for political debates,      success. Her conclusion? Make it
Here, Orla is playing the guitar for   and zoomed in on what they              relatable. “A constructive format
the first task of every day at the     learned from that proces. “We           can be challenging in the world of
institute; singing together.           found that the panelists were more      television,” editor Annette Hoth
                                       civil when the cameras were off,        said.
                                       and we wanted to re-create that
                                       type of atmosphere,” Gro Engen
                                       concluded.

                                                         Annual Report                                               23
Constructive Fellowship

     Constructive
      Journalism
      Fellowship
      2019-2020

                                   Constructive Journalism
                                   Fellows posing at Stanford
                                   University in San Francisco
                                   from left; Tine Tud Seerup,
                                   Katja Boxberg, Minna
                                   Skau, Morten Runge, Jo
                                   Williamson, Mette Aaby,
                                   Sarah Golczyk, Hans
                                   Davidsen-Nielsen, Kasper
                                   Kaasgaard, Friederike Felbo,
                                   Mathilde Graversen and
                                   Jakob Risbro.
24           Annual Report
                                             Photo: Peter Damgaard
Constructive Fellowship

The Constructive
Institute Fellowship
Program is modelled
after journalism
fellowship programs at
Stanford University in
San Francisco and at
Harvard University in
Boston.
The program aims to
give talented media
professionals, with a
potential to influence
the future of journalism,
access to an academic
bank of knowledge at
a top class university                             *The program

for the duration of an                     enables the fellows
                                            to strengthen their
academic year.                               knowledge of their
                                           chosen topic areas,
                                          as well as to explore

On the next pages you                         existing solutions
                                             to problems in the
can read about the                             fields they are or

fellowship 2019-2020.
                                          will be covering. The
                                               fellows have free
                                          access to lectures at
                                          Aarhus University, as
                                          well as to workshops
                                                 and training on
                                                     constructive
                                               journalism at the
                                         Constructive Institute.

                   Annual Report                               25
Constructive Fellowship

 “21 Things
 I Learned
 And Two
 That I
 Regret”                                                                                                               WRITTEN BY:
                                                                                                                       MORTEN RUNGE,
                                                                                                                       JOURNALIST
                                                                                                                       AT DANISH
                                                                                                                       BROADCASTING
                                                                                                                       CORPORATION
                                                                                                                       AND FORMER
                                                                                                                       CONSTRUCTIVE
                                                                                                                       FELLOW

 A 10 month stay at Constructive Institute      I learned to be fair.                          accord is an underreported story.
 has raised my awareness of almost              I learned that we at Constructive Institute
 everything. Here’s some of what I take         should take care not to depict the             I learned that the number of lawsuits
 with me home.                                  current state of journalism in sad black       against independent media from big
                                                and white while asking everyone else to        companies under journalistic fire is
 I learned that journalism today does not       use colours.                                   increasing rapidly.
 always depict the true state of the world      I learned that freedom of speech is not
 and that its negativity bias is the key        freedom of reach. You are entitled to          I learned that reporting on solutions may
 point of attack.                               your thoughts but not necessarily to have      be the way forward for journalism but
                                                them amplified.                                that you should also be careful as to who
 I learned that if you are taken hostage                                                       gets to pick and assess these solutions.
 by, say, Islamic State, you need to fix your   I learned that it’s okay to fall asleep
 attention on daily routines and get to         when you prepare for class because that        I learned that you have to close your
 know fellow inmates in order not to go         happens to everyone now and then. And          presentation with something powerful.
 nuts.                                          it’s okay to blame it on the inaccessibility   Like the one that ended an American
                                                of academic texts.                             editor’s talk on investigative reporting
 I learned the difference between                                                              and fake news: “The truth needs
 causation and correlation.                     I learned that fake news was not created       reinforcements and I’m here to recruit.”
                                                by the internet. But the scale of it was.
 I learned that one of the fastest ways to      I learned our country must be strong //        I regret not having tried to do a book on
 rebuild trust in journalism is by making it    that it’s always right and never wrong //      trust. I did a podcast, which was fun and
 transparent.                                   our leaders are the finest men // we elect     interesting, but I guess I also had the
                                                them again and again                           chance to put everything down in writing,
 I learned what 11 other bright and funny                                                      illustrations, characters, graphs, chapters,
 fellows thought of journalism, politics        I learned that politics often is about         footnotes and maybe I would have hit
 and life as a whole, and I learned how         blame avoidance and that’s what’s              a good balance between academic,
 valuable such inputs and these people          keeping us from really liking and trusting     journalistic and popular angles.
 can become.                                    politicians.
                                                I learned that you can’t always trust          I regret that a 10 month leave from
 I learned that my kids (12, 10 and 5)          surveys on trust that tell you that trust      your job is not for everyone in Denmark
 ended up profiting a lot from a year           all of a sudden goes up or down. It’s easy     regardless of your occupation. Journalists
 as exchange students in Eastern                to confuse disagreeing with distrusting        often succeed in convincing the world
 Jutland, which is far enough away from         politicians and many big polls don’t really    that we are important. But teachers,
 Copenhagen for them (or us) to exit            care about this distinction.                   pedagogues and doctors would be cool
 comfort zones.                                                                                to invest in and develop too.
                                                I learned that the power and influence
 I learned that if you have two potatoes        of the Danish parliament is decreasing,
 and your neighbour has two chicken and         sadly, while the power and influence
 you really want a chicken and he really        of the government is increasing, pretty
 wants a potato and you exchange one            unstoppably.
 chicken for one potato – then you end up
 with something worth more than what            I learned to love a story’s nuances even
 you had. It’s a beautiful thought and you      though they may blur the angle
 can win the Nobel prize in economics if
 you can sort of expand and explain that        I learned that 80 percent of all legislation
 theory a little.                               is adopted by 80 percent of all parties in
                                                Parliament and that this sign of unity and

26                                                             Annual Report
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