Constructive journalism

Constructive journalism is a journalistic approach that seeks to supplement traditional news reporting with solution-focused, contextual, and future-oriented perspectives. Its aim is to counteract news fatigue and news avoidance, negativity bias and disengagement by adding nuance, evidence-based responses, and forward-looking angles to stories about societal challenges. Constructive journalism does not avoid critical reporting but expands it through context, multiple perspectives, and coverage of how individuals, institutions, and communities address problems.

Since the early 2010s, constructive journalism has developed into a recognised international research field and newsroom practice, with interdisciplinary roots in positive psychology, media effects, systems theory, and democratic theory.

Constructive journalism is related to, but distinct from, solutions journalism, civic journalism and restorative narratives. It retains traditional journalistic values such as accuracy and independence, verification, and scrutiny, while broadening reporting to include responses, possibilities, and the societal implications of public problems.