When we see news headlines, we often see that they are negative events, again because that’s what we want to hear about, as sad as it is it peeks our interest more than positive events. But the news is powerful, and when they want a positive story to get big and spread, they can make it. A lot of the times even stories that we would consider positive have negative elements in them also, so they will still keep our interest but instead of a violent or hateful result, we get the opposite. A perfect example is TSN’s “The Butterfly Child.” A story about a boy with a rare and incurable skin disease may sound depressing, but happy tears are shed when listening to the boy and all his hope filled tale. One way the news can promote genuine good is through stories like this which spread awareness for the disease, let the boy share his story to the world and live some of his dreams of playing sports. These testimonies make us stop and think about our lives and how lucky we are to be as we are right now. It makes us reflect on the goodness of others and the struggles of those around us. Stories and articles that result in this positive emotional response, of sadness but also thankfulness and joy, can really reach out to people in the best way and change their views on aspects of their life. This is how the news can use it’s power for positive response.
Click here to watch Jonathan’s story: The Butterfly Child
Positivity In the Media 