By Isabel Marques da Silva
Good, positive, constructive or solutions-based journalism is a trend that has been on the rise in the the last two decades, in parallel with an increased use of internet platforms and logics for the production and consumption of stories taking place in the so-called developing world.
But what does it say about mobilisation for action and social change when the ‘alternative’ storytelling from journalists and/or citizens dissatisfied with the traditional, westernised and colonial point of view of that world, (creating for that purpose alternative blogs and ‘marginal’ news websites) evolves to also become a tool for Western development agents in their communication efforts, such as the journalistic awareness campaign “World’s Best News” by Danish aid agency DANIDA, (in cooperation with UN, 100 NGOs and 100 private companies) about the Millennium Development Goals?
What are the challenges for storytelling about development and appeals to mobilisation when pursuing new media trends and tools such as “Solutions Journalism Network”, “Positive News”, “Sparknews.com” and “Reporters d’Espoirs”? How are mainstream journalism organisations balancing their professional acquis with riding these new media trends, such as “Huffington Post’s” Positive News column or “The Guardian” Global Development section?
