We ask some of our journalists what they love about writing for Positive News
As Positive News moves towards becoming the first crowdfunded global media cooperative, we are offering our journalists (as well as our readers) a unique opportunity to become owners of the paper.
We spoke to some of our contributors to find out why they decide to work for Positive News and what it is that makes the paper stand out for them.
To hear what our readers, supports and new co-owners think about Positive News, visit our testimonials page.
Rin Hamburgh, freelance writer and Positive News journalist
Many journalists set out with one starry-eyed goal in mind – to make a difference, in whatever small way we can. But over the years that dream can tarnish as the realities of the modern media – not to mention practicalities like the need to pay rent and buy groceries – turn our focus away from the ideals that first set us on our chosen career paths.
“At Positive News, it’s not about how scandalous your stories are. Instead the question is: how will this story change the world for the better?”
Luckily, there are still some publications out there that foster the kind of journalism that so many traditional publications no longer seem to value. At Positive News, it’s not about how scandalous your stories are or how dramatic your headlines. Instead the questions are: how will this story change the world for the better?, what can we learn from it?, and how will it motivate and encourage our readers?
I’ve loved every moment I’ve spent with the Positive News team, and proudly look back on the articles I’ve written for them – positive, hope-filled pieces that celebrate good and set out a constructive road map for our future. It’s hard to resist cynicism as a journalist, but working with Positive News makes it that little bit easier.
Aaron Millar, Positive News travel editor
I’m lucky to work with a range of publications from The Times to National Geographic Traveller, CNN and more. But the articles I’m always proudest of are those I do with Positive News. I feel like we make a difference, and that’s why as well as receiving paid commissions, I also volunteer additional time to support Positive News.
Positive News is able to cover things that otherwise wouldn’t have a voice – from ecological warnings from lost tribes to a woman who writes sea shanties as she sails across the world. These are wonderful stories that we hope inspire people to love the Earth and live life to the full.
But more than that I believe Positive News provides a vital function for our society. What we feed our mind matters. If we nourish it only with fear and despair, then that’s the world we will unconsciously build. I’m proud to work for Positive News because it shows me time and again that humanity is not so cruel, and our problems not so insurmountable as we might be led to think. You don’t change the world by shining a light on everything that’s broken and bad, you change it by reminding us of who we are and who we’re striving to become.
Like what you’re reading? We want our readers to #OwnTheMedia. Support Positive News by becoming an owner now: www.ownthemedia.org
Ben Whitford, Positive News journalist and sub-editor
I got into journalism just as the industry was imploding: people were visiting websites instead of buying newspapers, ad revenues were plummeting, and media organisations were folding. The crisis sparked a still-ongoing race to the bottom: desperate for eyeballs and ad revenues, newspapers amped up their “if it bleeds, it leads” cynicism, and got busy blurring the lines between newsrooms and advertising departments.
That, for me, is why Positive News is so important: in a cynical industry it’s one of a handful of organisations that are genuinely committed to something beyond their own bottom line. At Positive News, journalism is still first and foremost a public service, and the current crowdfunding campaign is a big part of that: a way to keep Positive News not just financially secure, but also independent, and committed and accountable to its readers above all else.
The upshot of that independence, of course, is that Positive News is uniquely able to tackle important and complex issues in a way that’s both clear-eyed and optimistic. In troubled and troubling times, Positive News is a refresher: a reminder that while the world has plenty of problems, it also has plenty of people working to find solutions. That’s something we need more than ever right now.
We are inviting our readers to #OwnTheMedia. Become an owner now and help us become the first crowdfunded global media cooperative.
