Constructive Journalism: A Toolkit for Trainers

"A major observation that media professionals are making these days is that people are exhausted by the constant stream of problem-oriented reporting on crises and disasters." - DW Akademie

This trainer toolkit is designed to provide trainers of journalists and editors with the tools to conduct constructive journalism, an approach to journalism that seeks to inspire and engage people, and encourage them to seek solutions. The toolkit provides general knowledge about constructive journalism, as well as a set of flexible training modules, handouts, and other resources that can be used according to the training goal and the intended audience.

As explained in the toolkit, "Digital disruption has resulted in an economic crisis for the news industry. At the same time, studies have shown that people are becoming more disengaged from the news. A constant barrage of negative, conflict-based coverage has resulted in a large percentage of people tuning out of the news as it makes them feel depressed and helpless. The overwhelming negative nature of news coverage has led to skewed perceptions about the actual state of the world. Trust in the news media has fallen over the years (although it rose some during the COVID-19 pandemic), which has grave ramifications for societies. Surveys have shown that audiences are not getting all they want from media outlets and journalists need to rethink their coverage so that their reporting stays relevant to their communities, opens up new paths to economic sustainability and contributes to positive change."

The toolkit defines constructive journalism as "an approach that aims to provide audiences with a fair, accurate and contextualized picture of the world, without overemphasizing the negative and exclusively focusing on what is going wrong. It’s a response to the increasing tabloidization, sensationalism and negativity that dominates much of the news media today. It aims to introduce journalistic innovation to tackle some of today’s problems around news consumption and engagement. It is not a reinvention of journalism, rather it is a shift in focus and tone that includes solution, nuance and dialogue. Constructive journalism has the rigor and critical eye of good journalism and is modeled on three 'pillars': (1) solutions, (2) nuance and perspectives, (3) constructive dialogue."

Per DW Akademie, constructive journalism can have a positive impact on audiences - making them more inspired, more engaged, and more resilient - and a healthy impact on journalists, as well.

The toolkit is intended for two groups of beneficiaries:

• print, online, radio, and TV/video journalists, staff, or freelancers who want to apply constructive approaches in their reporting; and
• decision-makers in media outlets (editors and media managers) who want to know more about the constructive approach, its potential impact (both on audiences and revenue), and strategies for implementing it in their daily routines and programming.

For each of these two groups, the toolkit offers three modules:

1. Showroom - offers insights into the core philosophy and concepts of constructive journalism against a background of disruptive changes in media landscapes around the world.
2. Factory Floor - focuses on the production of constructive pieces and on ways to spark dialogue, even among opposing groups and on controversial topics. It helps trainers guide trainees through the story process, offering practical tips related to research and story development as well as production and postproduction tips for visual constructive stories.
3. Marketplace - addresses (i) trainees who are looking for markets for their constructive stories (especially freelancers) and (ii) trainees who make decisions in their media outlets about editorial policy and programming.

In addition to basic knowledge, all modules contain suggestions for possible learning objectives, expanded training plans, practical handouts, checklists, and basic prepared presentations.

As part of the modules, the toolkit offers the following downloadable tools:

• knowledge packages supplemented by recommendations for further reading;
• suggestions for fully designed training sessions, with detailed descriptions;
• help sheets for trainers and other training material;
• PowerPoint presentations (to be visually and culturally adapted); and
• handouts for trainees.

The toolkit is designed to be used in a flexible way. The contents can be individually organised according to need, budget, and time frame. Trainers can orient themselves according to their own prior knowledge and that of the respective intended audience and can set individual focal points. Each chapter is marked for ease of use. For example, articles that cover important core concepts are marked as "basic". For workshops with a practical portion, there are suggestions for training sessions as well as "homework". These exercises can be done individually or in pairs/groups.

The trainer toolkit was developed as part of the first Global Crisis Initiative of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) with experts from Africa, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, and Asia. Since then, the toolkit has been used widely for training and mentoring. The toolbox will continue to be updated as a living document to include new developments and future research findings.