#OwnTheMedia: Positive News Becomes Global Media Cooperative

Positive News Editor-in-Chief Sean Dagan Wood and Journalist Danielle Batist

Positive News started on a kitchen table in a farm tucked away in rural Shropshire some 22 years ago.  It is the world’s leading and longest-established publication dedicated to positive and solution-focused journalism. A magazine writing about kindness, cooperation, creativity and innovation - a breath of fresh air in a media where news too often means problems, conflicts, wars, crimes, tragedy: the old  “if it bleeds, it leads” approach.

The publication is now based in London, has a circulation of 60,000, a strong social media presence, and its construtive approach is increasingly attracting interest from other media.

The idea that news has to be something that’s broken is slowly being questioned by media outlets all over the world – and not just by alternative media.  Mainstream media like the New York Times, the Huffington Post, Al Jazeera and many more are experimenting with solution-focused sections and a more balanced news agenda.

Studies have shown that news with a negative bias tend to leave audiences feeling powerless, bored, frustrated, disengaged and less likely to get involved or contribute financially. The opposite is true for news with a more positive slant.   This does matter: journalists say they need to report on what’s happening in the world - and too bad if it makes people feel bad, and I tend to agree. But journalists are not doing their job if they produce switched-off, disengaged citizens.

As Positive News has pioneered a more positive form of journalism, it is now pioneering a new way to finance and run a media business. It needs to innovate to become sustainable and to meet the growing demand for its journalism, so it is becoming the first crowdfunded global media cooperative, owned by their readers and journalists. 

Positive News editor-in-chief, Seán Dagan Wood, said: “We’re seeing a growing public demand for our journalism, as well as increasing interest in our approach from other media. Cooperative ownership is the perfect way forward to raise investment while protecting our ethos.”

They launched their #OwnTheMedia crowdfunding campaign at Nesta yesterday to reach the £200,000 they need to secure and grow the organisation. Amazingly, the campaign has already reached £68,800, last time I looked, and new investments are coming in all the time.

 The funding will help Positive News expand their core team, develop their new website, relaunch their print publication into a magazine and build the audience and the income streams that will help sustain them in the long-term.

I’ve written for Positive News for a few years and love what they do and stand for.

If you want to join a community of people with shared values and be part of the first crowdfunded global media co-operative, please join the #OwnTheMediacampaign