Why success stories are vital

IN the world of journalism, a question haunts the minds of many aspiring writers: How could one create a narrative that breaks away from the crowd, leaving readers with a positive impression.

There are some journalists who have a tendency to seek, write or broadcast negative stories, thinking that they would sell and make money than positive, development and success stories.

The world is frequently shaken by tragedies such as bombings, wars, natural disasters. Every day we see the devastating impacts of violence in different countries.

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People are not well fed with success stories that would inspire them to engage in different development activities.

It is against such background, undoubtedly, the Minister for Information, Communication and Information Technology, Mr Nape Nnauye, emphasised the importance of government information officers to share positive news about the country’s implementation of development projects.

The officers should frequently update the public on government’s plans and ensure a smooth flow of information to the media and the public at large.

The public has the right to be told about implementation of various development projects. In this, information officers have a responsibility to inform the public, through media, about the projects, especially the strategic ones that are being implemented effectively.

There is a real need for some positive news. Audiences need a pressure-release valve. There is also an impact of positive news, as we see some really interesting insights and journalists should be able to make investigations and come up with facts and data to feed their audiences.

As Mr Nnauye put it, information officers and journalists should be regularly trained to build their capacity in providing information and information delivery on development projects.

It is clear that positive outcomes have been registered, so information officers should provide detailed analysis and data on government projects, without forgetting to abide by the fundamentals of journalism.

Leaders have been talking about user-needs, we need to publish and broadcast inspiring stories that are real. It is those that often have a positive touch to the audience and can stir up the public to engage even more in development projects.

Such stories should have a definite place in the publishing and broadcasting calendar, and do well with their audiences. It is kind of obvious when you think about it.

Journalists should tend to remember (or share) happy news more often than the negative. There is another user need involved – ‘Divert Me’.

People simply cannot consume ‘hard news’ all the time. That’s where the user need ‘Divert Me’ comes in. journalists should think of it like a pressure valve – it introduces something lighter and helps alleviate news fatigue.

Something that’ll bring a smile to the audiences’ faces, surprises and amazes. Let us work on this efficiently