When you watch the news it sounds like crisis is everywhere. And lord help those who are stuck on Fox News. The barrage of fear must be overwhelming. Here’s a suggestion: start watching for stories about solutions and your media algorithms will improve. There’s are things going on in the world to be hopeful about.
A huge problem for American culture is the fragmentation and isolation among so many of us. Social media, that was intended to bridge those connections, does more to sow confusion and build barriers. Those barriers are a big part of the reason we’ve lost touch with the deep connections with community that helps us be most fully human.
An example of the disconnect is the way media – especially social media – extols stories about the former president (both positive and negative), and seems to miss out on much of what the current president is really accomplishing. Biden isn’t perfect by any means, but if the media were paying attention we’d all see a lot more positive than negative happening in the White House these days. The stone-casting leaves people with doubt and confusion at a time when pulling together and reweaving our communities is the most important activity we could be doing. What we need are positive solutions. And there really are positive solutions.
When we start looking for solutions, media’s a good place to start thinking about them. Have you noticed solutions journalism yet? That doesn’t just mean a feel-good story. It tackles the problems we face on deep levels, but also reveals positive aspects and how real people are effectively dealing with things in their own communities.
Yes! Magazine has been my favorite solutions source for a long time. Here’s the home page:
Yes! Magazine
And here’s an example of approaching solutions differently:
This Climate Class Includes Solutions Instead of Alarmism
If we look for solutions they’re out there. For a few weeks I think it’s important to hunt up some of those solutions and share them so Omni folks can join the Solutions Team in tackling the metacrisis. We’re just the ones to do that.
If you’re looking for an in-depth look at solutions journalism, here’s the longer version from the Your Undivided Attention podcast: It’s an interview with the founders of an emerging stream that needs to be recognized..
Solutions Journalism Network