Work in progress

ABOUT THIS PROJECT

Constructive Journalism in the South is an open collaborative, exploring the potential value of constructive reporting for media outlets and communities in the American South. It is informed by the work of the Constructive Institute in Aarhus, Denmark.

This project extends a partnership between the Community Foundation for Mississippi and Red Window Communications. It began in 2023 as an effort to research how journalism could bring Mississippians together, starting with a diverse audience perspective along with insights from media members across the state.

The work has been funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Microsoft Democracy Forward initiative. We are also grateful to the many individuals whose ideas and perspectives have helped shape this resource, directly or indirectly.

So how do we use this resource? The method, research, examples and toolkit can be used as part of initiatives to develop or redevelop sustainable, audience-centric local news organizations. News outlets can use this model to completely transform a brand and coverage strategy (like this one did), or as a project approach to test its effect on specific measures like:

  • Digital engagement metrics and conversions to subscriptions/memberships.

  • Impacts on subscriber/member growth.

  • Impacts on measures of civic engagement, such as voter participation rates.

  • Audience and community sentiment about a media outlet and its value to the community.

  • Recruiting metrics such as internship or job applications.

  • Staff sentiment, motivation and experience.

To explore potential partnerships and opportunities, share your ideas or connect on LinkedIn.

JANE ALEXANDER, President & CEO
Community Foundation for Mississippi

LUCY SCHULTZE, Founder & CEO
Red Window Communications LLC

This is an open collaborative. Join in.

ADD YOUR INSIGHTS, QUESTIONS AND IDEAS TO THIS PROJECT.

The big idea

good news for journalism

Nearly three in four adults in America think the news media is increasing polarization in our country. If the media has this power, could it also apply it in the opposite direction — to bring people together?

Constructive journalism is a global movement that questions journalists’ understanding of their role as passive observer, prompting a fresh look at the relationship between media outlets and the communities they cover. Constructive journalism acknowledges that the stories the media covers and how they cover them both reflect and shape the narrative of their communities.

This movement combines two urgent conversations:

How to help news outlets sustain their work, and how to help people in a divided society hear each other.

Investigative journalists have always understood that their work can and should prompt change. A constructive approach adds an additional layer of awareness about how people are impacted by reporting. It also looks forward, seeking out and elevating information that can help people to make progress together.

Constructive journalism stops short of prescriptive editorializing that can veer into advocacy. Acknowledging journalists’ own limitations of bias and knowledge, it offers a more humble role: Journalism as facilitator of civic dialogue.

Independent journalism is the core of society’s conversation and progress. It provides facts. Uncovers problems. And inspires potential solutions to the challenges facing all of us.

Today, people do not need more news, they need better news. That’s what we call constructive journalism.

— Ulrik Haagerup, Founder and CEO, Constructive Institute

Comparative nuances

constructive journalism in context

How is this different from traditional journalism?

To a certain extent, the difference is less about the method itself, and more about how people inside media outlets think about their jobs. That explains why journalists and editors give a broad range of answers to the question: “Can journalism bring people together?” For some people, it’s outside the scope of what the news media should be doing. For others, it is exactly what they aspire to do already.

Here’s a look at traditional vs. constructive views, in terms of how journalists think about their jobs:

How does this relate to investigative journalism?

The constructive journalism movement was founded by an investigative journalist. It includes, rather than replaces, the principles of rigorous investigative reporting. The goal is not just good news, but rather coverage that is both critical and constructive.

Here’s how the Constructive Institute positions its approach as an additional dimension, to take breaking and investigative news one step further:

How does this relate to solutions journalism?

While “constructive journalism” is virtually unknown in America, “solutions journalism” has been a forward-looking movement in the United States for more than a decade.

Solutions journalism argues that responses to problems are newsworthy. Its leading advocate is the Solutions Journalism Network, a nonprofit founded by writers of the New York Times column “Fixes.” The SJN today provides a wealth of practical resources to equip rigorous reporting on efforts to solve social problems. The SJN partners with the Constructive Institute for awards and programs.

Tricky but important —> Solutions is one of the Three Pillars of Constructive Journalism. The two concepts are closely related, but subtly different — especially in how they position the role of the journalist. In solutions journalism, reporters are encouraged to seek out and rigorously report on best practices. In constructive journalism, it is equally important to reflect a range of perspectives (Nuance) and to help people hear each other (Conversation).

When you put the three pillars together — not necessarily in every story, but as a holistic reporting strategy — it changes how audiences feel about whether journalists ought to be delivering solutions. It also lightens the weight of expectation upon journalists themselves.

Hear from our Mississippi audience on this distinction >>

In the context of this project, we use both the term “solutions,” connecting to the SJN’s established standards and practices, and the term “possibilities,” which moderates the expectation for both the reporter and the audience.

The Three Pillars of Constructive Journalism is adapted from the Constructive Institute.

Ethics Statement

Any effort to chart the future of journalism must be rooted in the field’s foundational ethics. These are essential to separate journalism today from the myriad other forms of content creation and distribution.

Constructive Journalism in the South respects, values and seeks to abide by the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics. As a statement of purpose and integrity, it articulates the highest ideals of a constructive journalism practice.