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Have a strong local presence by using constructive journalism

Experts in constructive journalism discuss the impact of news on users lives and their communities.

Adrian Feuerbacher from NDR in Germany opened the session by
discussing his public news station, where they do lots of
investigative reporting. They like to show the audience the whole
picture with nothing held back. Instead NDR want to create a more
accurate understanding of situations. Adrian said that lots of
feedback on radio is negative… but NDR receives a remarkable amount of
positivity!

Louise Welander, from SR in Sweden, said they decided a long time ago
that they needed to invest in constructive journalism. But it took a
while to get to the point where they are now. She agreed with Adrian
that journalism is all about giving a clear picture of society and the
situations that we are in. She gave some insight into how journalists
work at SR, asking question after question, again and again – and
following up six weeks later. She said that constructive journalism is
difficult to define and that you have to decide on your own
definition, but ultimately that it is within the DNA of a journalist
to investigate.

Jesper Borup, from DR P4 in Denmark is further ahead with constructive
journalism. He hosts the morning show at his regional station and is
established in creating investigative journalism. His show has
investigated lots of situations, including a school without working
computers – where the students and teachers do not use them at all
because they fail to even switch on. Jesper investigated the problem
with the computers and found a specialist who could fix them.