Love the insight that reporting only on problems is a privilege!

It is also destructive to only speak to problems. It causes people to tune out, to go on news fasts because it they feel helpless. When possible solutions and resources are provided, it offers a path not only for those directly affected but also for people who are moved to get involved in small and large ways.

Reporting on possibilities could spark a renaissance of hope and public involvement in civic life. Social science finds that we move towards what we can imagine (Cooperrider, 2000). When we cease to have a positive image of our own future, cultures die (Polak, 1973). Conversely, when we embrace generative images, like sustainable development or a man on the moon by the end of the decade, it accelerates achievement (Bushe & Storch, 2015).

Thank you for your work!

Bushe, G.R. and Storch, J. (2015). Generative Image: Sourcing Novelty. In G.R. Bushe, & R. J. Marshak, Dialogic Organization Development: The Theory and Practice of Transformational Change. (pp. 123-149). Oakland, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.

Cooperrider, D. L. (2000). Positive Image, Positive Action: The Affirmative Basis of Organizing. Appreciative Inquiry: Rethinking Human Organization Toward a Positive Theory of Change, 29–53.

Polak, F. (1973). The Image of the Future (U.S. Edition published by Jossey-Bass Publishers ed.). (E. Boulding, Ed., & E. Boulding, Trans.) Am, CA: Elsevier Sdentific Publishing Co.