We rarely read good news. You might think that everything was better in the past? Far from it. Mankind has never been healthier and more peaceful than it is today. But there are formats that are dedicated to positive news. These examples show that this is by no means about cat videos and feel-good stories.

Bad news has a bad influence on our psyche. This has been scientifically proven. Not only does our mood deteriorate, we also have less motivation to commit to something good. The way news is presented has a direct impact on our thoughts and actions. For example, whether we donate to charity, separate waste or get involved socially.

What do we know about the world?

"The illusion of deterioration is a great burden for many people and causes others to abandon all hope - and for no reason at all," said Hans Rosling, a scientist who died in 2017. His Gapminder Foundation offers a test of what you know about the world. The "surprise": most people paint the world blacker than it is. Rosling advocated letting facts speak for themselves. Before he died, he formulated 32 good messages that prove that not everything is getting worse. On the contrary, the majority of people are better off than ever before.

It's not about whitewashing

So should journalists ignore war, climate change, hunger, terror and poverty? No, but they can determine the framework in which these topics are discussed. Constructive journalism works with positive psychology. Positive news doesn't ignore problems, but looks at them in a solution-oriented way. Some therefore refer to it as "solutions journalism." News formats such as "Positive.News," "The Goodnewspaper" or "Humans of New York" are dedicated to positive news. "ZEIT Online" sent a positive news item to the smartphone every day for a while. In its "Good News You May Have Missed" column, "FAZ" reports on positive developments that have been lost in the stream of negative news.

Found on: Positive Nachrichten: Warum konstruktive News wichtig für uns sind (change-magazin.de)