Taking the 'Negative' out of The News

New Radio and TV channels are opening up all the time and this is a good thing. Not least, because it widens choice and helps create balance in how news is covered.

Never was the broadcast media under greater interrogation for its news reporting than during the Brexit debate.

When I was reporting for the BBC, we were told as journalists that if people on all sides of the political spectrum complained then we were probably getting the job right.

The debate over how the broadcast media reports the news has become more vociferous recently. MP’s are demanding root and branch change at the BBC, complaining the national broadcaster's news style has barely changed in decades and that it does not represent Britain post Brexit but changing things at the BBC, is like turning around an oil tanker at sea, it happens very slowly.

So, with a gap in the market, step forward Andrew Neil with his soon to launch TV news channel GB News. He promises that GB News will be the biggest news channel to compete with the major networks in 30-years. He  promises it will bring a fresh approach to news reporting and genuine plurality to the British media. In the same way Sky News changed the broadcasting landscape, the contrast between GB News and the incumbent news channels is immediately obvious. You have to admire Andrew Neil for this bold assault. GB News will be seen as an expensive experiment but to those funding the channel, an experiment worth making.

I’ve been reading a book on news reporting by Jodie Jackson. ‘You are what you read’ is about peoples changing habits towards broadcast news. Jodie quotes a study by the news agency Reuters that shows one in three people actively avoid broadcast news because it lowers their mood. One respondent said constantly hearing about problems in the news made her feel helpless and hopeless. The survey revealed that people switch off bad news and look for stories that give them hope and that people are more receptive to news stories that talk about solutions not just problems. Jodie’s book does not advocate that journalists merely produce feel-good stories but that telling a story as only being a problem, is telling only half a story. She wants more media time given for stories to go beyond the initial impact of a tragedy or disaster and she challenges the often-held journalistic view that solutions are inconsequential to news reporting.
 
If Andrew Neil is serious about wanting a fresh perspective to broadcast news then I suggest a quick read of Jodie’s book might be a good starting point.

By Steve Haigh, Station Manager
Radio Ninesprings 104.5 FM