How can I implement constructive journalism in my reporting?

This concise handbook offers  journalists key issues to think about, important questions to ask and practical exercises for every step in the reporting cycle.

A guide toward a constructive approach
At TV 2 Fyn, they have developed a set of values combined in one model, The Constructive Compass – SINC. The goal for the compass is to guide the journalist to a constructive starting point right from the outset of covering a story.

Journalists and editors at TV 2 Fyn use the model daily, for example at the morning editorial meeting where they develop ideas for their daily SINC story. It is possible to go in all four directions with one story but often two and maybe three may work.

Print out the compass and use it to keep your journalism on a constructive course or alternatively develop your own compass which meets the needs of your reporting.

A Constructive News Culture

In addition to the compass the journalists at TV 2 Fyn worked together to formulate a definition on what constructive journalism was for them in their media. That definition along with the compass now appears on posters on the walls of the editorial office to remind journalist that they are in the process of developing into a media house cultivating constructive journalism.

Use this mission statement to help inspire a guiding set of values for your newsroom.