I’m sure in the future, we will all shudder involuntarily when we hear the word ‘unprecedented.’ As we officially entered a year since Britain first went into lockdown this week, we paused to remember those whose lives have been tragically lost. We’ve heard – and experienced – much on how lockdown restrictions, death rates, social isolation and economic fallout has been affecting the nation’s mental and physical health directly, but we need to also look at how simply the act of learning about these constant barrages of tragedies has taken its toll on us.
I doubt any of us have ever had to deal not only with such a huge level of bad news, but we also feel more inclined to seek it out. I don’t know about those reading, but I tend to mentally brace myself every time I get a breaking news notification come up on my phone. This isn’t a national accusation of media masochism - at a time when our lives could be upturned in less than twenty-four hours, our survival instinct kicks in and we arm ourselves by attempting to seek the latest knowledge.
As we slowly start to come out of what many have admitted is the toughest lockdown yet (who would ever have thought that would be a phrase this time last year?), it is no understatement to say that we are overwhelmed with information, most of it characteristically ‘bad news.’ We had to navigate through rumours of lockdown restriction extensions, debates over schools and a lost generation, nationwide businesses buckling dragging once-safe jobs with them – we were overwhelmed with unavoidable, disheartening narratives.
Whilst reporting on current affairs naturally entails bringing life-affecting news to light, my sense is that the people of Britain crave good news as a crucial part of supporting their overall wellbeing. This is not to say that we should not be reporting the latest breaking updates, unbiased to how it will affect readers’ moods; but that the pursuit of serotonin-boosting stories and activities is vital for public wellbeing. Being a former radio journalist myself, doing the early morning slots, the last thing you want to hear in your car on your way to work is a barrage of sobering public health and economic reports.
But, even before we had the vaccination milestones to keep us positive, good news was out there; and it is not frivolous or inappropriate in sensitivity. Independent journalism has many responsibilities to its audience – most of all, of course, to ensure the stories they are presenting are accurate and without influential bias – and I believe a growing responsibility in terms of public health which has developed from this year is that of supporting their readers’, listeners’ or viewers’ mental health. Before creating that soundbite or catchy headline, people should be thinking twice about the wider impact.
To use a similar paradigm, let’s look at debates. If a debate is one-sided with ninety per cent of speaking time give to one opponent, an audience will go away with a skewed perception of the issue at hand. If the public are only consuming negativity, their view of the world will slowly move closer and closer towards constant cynicism. We must remember that ‘good news’ is still news, and there is both a media duty to report it, and civic duty to seek it out to spread hope and inspire others. If we want the public to keep a keen and healthy interest in the news and the wider world, we must show more than one side.
Numerous studies have found that an increased consumption of negative news stories releases cortisol and triggers our bodies’ fight or flight response – which heighten stress levels, affects our mood balance and increase fatigue, to name but a few consequences.
There have been some brilliant examples of pro-active, goal-driven positivity spreading from a whole host of outlets: Heart’s focus on supporting smaller, lesser-known charities help those hit hardest by the pandemic, TikTok’s #SpeakYourMind Challenge encouraging their young audience to speak freely about mental health and here at The Times who launched The Times Talks for active escapes from lockdown gloom. What sets these apart is this consciousness of the need for a welcome distraction from the inescapable wade of negativity, the acknowledgement that light-heartedness has a heavy impact when the landscape is awash with solemnity.
As we start to see the light at the end of the tunnel, it is imperative that we reflect on the past year and take away learnings. When we know the public are more engaged than ever with the news and the effect that our current global and national situation has on each individual, we must ensure that we are providing them with a healthy balance; to take a holistic view of our audience’s journey and think about how media responsibilities have shifted and evolved this past twelve months for ensuring they do not leave increasingly disheartened, anxious, stressed and distracted.
Which is why I whole heartedly encourage the media industry, and anyone with an influential platform and following, not to view good news stories as soft, tone-deaf or frivolous, but as a vital public service to ensure that their audience is nourished with a balanced diet of informative and encouraging stories.
During times when challenges to optimism are unrelenting, the joy of good news is a welcome and indispensable tonic to the nation’s mental wellbeing.