Americans are avoiding the news. What can journalists do?

Published July 26, 2022 at 6:00 AM EDT

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 25: A man reads a newspaper at a table outside White Castle in Sunnyside, Queens during the coronavirus pandemic on May 25, 2020 in New York City. Government guidelines encourage wearing a mask in public with strong social distancing in effect as all 50 states in the USA have begun a gradual process to slowly reopen after weeks of stay-at-home measures to slow the spread of COVID-19. (Cindy Ord/Getty Images)

About 40% of Americans actively avoid the news, according to a Reuters Institute study. Among them is journalist Amanda Ripley.

So what needs to change? Ripley has an answer, and it begins with giving people hope:

“There is some overlap between what journalism does and how humans actually process information, but not a huge amount,” Ripley says. “There’s a lot you would do differently if you were going to design news for human consumption.”

Today, On Point: Americans are avoiding the news. What can journalists do?

Guests

Joe Segal, On Point listener.

Amanda Ripley, investigative journalist and the host of Slate’s “How To!” podcast. Author of “High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out.” (@amandaripley)

David Bornstein, co-founder and CEO of the Solutions Journalism Network. (@dnbornstein)

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.