“Global Constructive Journalism Conference”

Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It’s a pleasure to be here with you today for the opening of the Global Constructive Journalism Conference. A warm thank you to Ulrik Haagerup for his invitation. You may be wondering why I am speaking to you today. The short answer is: “Because I am a believer in journalism as an indispensable force for good in our societies”. I believe this profession has a vital role to play at this pivotal moment in our collective story and in helping to keep our planet liveable for future generations. I think, however, that journalism – like so many of our institutions – is in need of a course correction. I am not here today to tell you what to report, how to do your jobs or whom to blame. I am here today because I am genuinely concerned for the future of one of the most important pillars of democracy. I am here today to share with you my personal conviction that constructive journalism is vital for the rebirth of the profession and for the success of our collective efforts.

Why is this issue dear to me and to so many of my peers? Because responsible journalism is the bedrock of healthy societies and of collaboration. Reliable information makes it possible for us all to join forces. It makes it possible for voters to pick the best leaders. For citizens to hold institutions and politicians accountable. For activists to make their voices heard.

It is no wonder that journalism evolved alongside representative government. In the 18th century, the British thinker Edmund Burke recognized this reality, describing the press as the “Fourth Estate”, a vital element for the proper functioning of our political systems. The media is a counter-weight to power. A source of the data and different points of view that make deliberation and collaboration possible. The press has three key roles: (one) to inform, (two) to hold power to account and (three) to educate. When it lives up to these fundamental objectives, journalism makes democracy, good governance and accountability possible. It inspires us to take action and to believe that change is possible. When it comes up short, it opens the door to misinformation, to ignorance, to disillusionment and to demagoguery.

Unfortunately, the “Fourth Estate” much too often falls short of its objectives. We live in an era of unprecedented access to information and possibilities to make one’s voice heard. Of unparalleled opportunities to participate in world affairs. And yet, so many of us feel disempowered by the news. Feel disappointed in political leadership. Feel disengaged from decision-making. The Digital News Report 2017, for example, found that – if 62 per cent of Finns and 50 per cent of Danes say they can trust most news most of the time, they are the exception. Only 38 per cent of Americans, 30 per cent of French and 23 per cent of South Koreans share this sentiment. This trust deficit is in part due to two trends shaping today’s media landscape: negative bias and tabloid sensationalism or, in other words, a lowest common denominator approach to news and greed.

Reading the headlines of the day, you would think we are living in a Medieval painting of the apocalypse. Death, famine, war and conquest are on the march. Our leaders are failing to respond or – worse – are fanning the flames for their own ends. But this grim picture is only half the story. Statistics show that, on average, humanity has never been better off, the world has never been safer, healthier or better educated. Nearly a billion people have escaped extreme poverty since 1990, while maternal and child mortality has fallen by half. Millions of children are in school for the first time. Polio and leprosy are on the brink of extinction. Around the world, there are countless organizations and individuals making huge strides to improve our world. Successes that largely go unreported. If today’s media is good at pinpointing problems, it is not good enough at offering up ideas, promoting a listening culture or spreading inspirational and educational stories about what to do. It is, of course, essential to report on the ills of the world, to uncover malfeasance and to alert us to dangers. However, contemporary journalism’s bias for negative stories has gone too far. It’s commitment to the mantra of “if it bleeds, it leads” is turning away readers from news and political engagement. The Digital News Report 2017 survey of 70,000 people in 36 countries found that nearly one-third of respondents “often or sometimes” avoid the news because it can have a negative effect on their mood or because they can’t trust it.

If negative bias is turning people away from news, “tabloid sensationalism” is contributing to public mistrust of the institutions. In today’s competitive media landscape, even reputable outlets are turning to misleading headlines and provocative coverage to attract readers. This can have severe consequences, both for the media and for public policy. If this trend continues, today’s media risks following in the footsteps of the American “Yellow Press” of the late 19th century. When media barons Joseph Pulitzer and Randolph Hearst turned to misleading headlines, sensationalist images and fake information to sell newspapers in New York City. A competition that contributed to the political polarization of the time and to the outbreak of the Spanish-American War of 1898.

What is driving today’s “negativity bias” and “tabloid sensationalism”? Ironically it is a replay of the factors that led to the “Yellow Press”. A competition for readership fuelled by new technology. Journalism has felt the disruptive impacts of the information revolution earlier than other fields. The advent of the Internet and social media transformed the way people get their information. But it did not transform the way media outlets derive their revenue. Advertising remains dominant and that means winning evermore fickle attention spans. This struggle for the eyes and ears of the public is waged in a landscape saturated with choice. Traditional news outlets now compete with online publications, blogs, podcasts, YouTube videos and social media. The Digital News Report 2017 found that over half of US respondents get their news from social media. Most challenging of all is the creation of the most powerful editor in history: algorithms. The formulas that power search engines, news aggregators and – most importantly – social media. Drawing on a treasure trove of user information, these algorithms can tailor content to each person. Creating a customized feed of information one cannot resist. If they are better at capturing attention than any human editor, algorithms fail to meet traditional journalistic standards. They fail to differentiate between facts and misinformation. They err on the side of emotions, not reason. Worst of all, they trap their users in “bubbles of thought”, favouring content that reinforces users’ worldviews. To survive in this new landscape, too many news outlets are adapting their content to the algorithms, hoping sensationalized stories will be pushed to readers. In the end, this trend only serves to damage public trust in the media and to blur the line between real and “fake news”. The ongoing technological revolution will only make matters worse for journalism. Artificial intelligence and sophisticated voice- and image-altering technology threatens to make it impossible to differentiate between real and fake content.

To remain the “Fourth Estate”, journalism must change course. It must abandon sensationalism and the negativity bias. In the face of the proliferation of information, the media must focus on producing quality, not quantity. It must not only analyse problems, but explore potential solutions. Dutch journalist Bas Mesters said it best, “In journalism, we have to add a sixth element to the five known W’s: Who, What, Where, Why and When. It is: What now?” This sixth element is “constructive journalism”. Constructive journalism is not about positive, upbeat news. It’s about reporting on issues that are important to society without bias for negativity or positivity. It’s about reporting on problems and solutions to start a debate on what can be done. It’s about providing the public with the “best obtainable version of the truth”– to quote Carl Bernstein of Watergate fame. This approach is increasingly backed by evidence that the public wants solutions, not just problems. A survey by the Center for Media Engagement at the University of Texas at Austin and the Solutions Journalism Network found that readers of “solution journalism” were more informed, interested and likely to remain engaged with the issue covered. Twitter’s data analysis also indicates that positive messages generate more engagement than negative content.

It is this word – “engagement” – that is so important for our collective future. Why? Because the scale of the challenges we face and the scope of the response needed are so vast that we need everyone to get involved. This is particularly the case for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Adopted in 2015 by the 193 Member States of the United Nations, it is the first time humanity has come together and agreed on a universal roadmap to a better future. The Agenda is built on 17 Sustainable Development Goals. As I hope you know, these focus on issues ranging from poverty and gender equality to urban development and climate action. They cover every human activity in an integrated way. The product of lessons learned from decades of development work, the Goals are more than a wish list. They are universal and are intended to leave no one behind. These Goals are our best chance to preserve this planet for future generations. But they will fail if they are not supported by an educated and engaged global citizenry. Why? Because these ambitious Goals are so far reaching they cannot depend on traditional actors of development – governments, international organizations and NGOs. They cannot be imposed top-down. They must above all be implemented by civil society, the private sector and individuals from the bottom-up. Only then will they be relevant to local circumstances and take root. That is why constructive journalism is so important to our collective future.

But journalism is not the only actor that needs to adapt its narrative.

We must change as well, and by we I mean the International structures with the United Nations at its centre.

Let me remind you of two positive facts that I often bring up when I speak on this issue:
The human race has never been better off as it is today. The extraordinary well-being that humanity has achieved over the past 70 years is in large part due to this international system that world created after WW2.

Every single person on our planet, all 7.3 billion of us, benefits every day from what that system delivers.

The problem is that nobody really knows about it. The perception of the UN today is generally negative because it is based on a very narrow understanding of what it does. And because we, as a system, have not been very good at telling our story over the last decades.

So we are doing something about it. We are working hard at changing the negative perception by changing the narrative, by changing the way we speak and the tools we use, by addressing a different and broader audience, particularly the younger generations and by changing the mindset.

In Geneva, where I work, we are busy doing all of this and are showing that it is possible to change, even for a somewhat sclerotic organisation like ours.

We created a unit called the Perception Change Project 3 years ago whose objective is to foster these changes and is doing so in a collaborative way with over 130 partners with some good success. We have created another unit called the SDG Lab whose objective is be a resource centre for all actors involved in the implementation of the 17 Goals by, amongst other activities, indentify and share best practices across the world. UN Genevas’s version of Constructive News !

We opened up access to the immense amount of data residing in Geneva through a new portal called gvadata.ch and through our library and knowledge centre and UN Geneva. This is addition to a number of outreach campaigns to the population in Geneva and the wider Switzerland.

All of this to show the impact of what we do and to inspire people across the world to be part of a collective effort to ensure that our planet remains a sustainable place to live for all of us, our children and theirs.

Thankfully, constructive journalism is also making inroads. Outlets in Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United States and South Africa, just to name a few, have adopted constructive journalism. Prominent online platforms, and major news outlets, have done so as well. I hope this is just the start of a renaissance for journalism. The world needs a free, vibrant and relevant press. A press that can hold us all accountable to our shared values. A press that can report on our setbacks, as well as our successes. A press whose coverage informs, educates and inspires the public. It is often said that we get the political leaders we deserve. In light of the challenges we face today, it is our shared responsibility to ensure we not only get the very best leaders we deserve and need, but that we also hold them accountable. A responsible and enlightened press is critical to that effort.

I look forward to a productive discussion.

Thank you all very much.