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Beyond The Bad News: Journalism In Search Of Global Solutions

Beyond The Bad News: Journalism In Search Of Global Solutions

PARIS — Conflict, scandal, disrepair: the bad news must be reported, wrongdoing exposed. Still, journalism too often is obsessed solely with what is broken — the breaking news, in every sense of the word.

Worldcrunch Impact takes a different starting point, with another question that journalists should ask: How might things get better? How can we build smarter schools and cities, improve our personal health and social inclusion and who knows what else?

It is called solutions journalism, a quest for good ideas and innovations that in the best cases may wind up being replicated as frequently and far and wide as possible.

Because Worldcrunch’s founding mission is to deliver great global stories in English, regardless of the language in which they were originally produced, we are in a unique position to offer a particularly broad range of potential solutions.

We have identified works of journalism that highlight programs, people, systems and innovations that are making the world a better place. We will focus on one particular subject per month, starting with:

  • Education Innovation: how technology is improving learning
  • Future Farming: the organic revolution and its benefits
  • Smart Cities: innovative urban advances making our cities more livable

This series was made possible by our readers, through a Kickstarter campaign of “crowdfunding,” itself an innovation that may be among the solutions for the future of journalism. (See the list of our Kickstarter backers, and ways you can join the effort.)

We must also say a big merci! to all of our 20-plus source partners, with a special thanks to Le Nouvel Observateur, Süddeutsche Zeitung and Internazionale who have signed on as distribution partners for Worldcrunch Impact.

Garrett Goodman, Worldcrunch's head of innovation, has guided the project from the outset, while Emily Liedel, our editor for special projects, has overseen the editorial production. You may have noticed a new redesign of our website, which was rolled out in record time for the launch of Impact thanks to the work of our Croatian technical team led by CTO Ivan Majstorovic and designer Dario Krznar. Thanks to all of them, and the entire Worldcrunch team!

A few final words about this new approach: The aim is to tackle the subjects with as broad a scope as possible. Solutions don’t always fit into easily defined parameters, and some of the best ideas come at the intersection of disciplines. Needless to say, not all solutions being pursued in good faith are the right ones, and some can even present new problems of their own.

No, we don't claim to have the answers. Our goal instead was simply to make accessible stories from around the world that we find thought-provoking and subject matter focused on finding positive outcomes. Our hope is that these first three series are only the start to Worldcrunch’s ongoing search to steer coverage that not only exposes wrongdoing, but also shines a light on what people are doing right. They say that journalism is the first rough draft of history — perhaps it can also be the first blueprint for a better future.

—Jeff Israely, Worldcrunch editor

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FOCUS: Israel-Palestine War

BDS And Us: Gaza's Toll Multiplies Boycotts Of Israel And Its Allies — Seinfeld Included

In Egypt and elsewhere in the region and the world, families and movements are mobilizing against companies that support Israel's war on Gaza. The power of the people lies in their control as consumers — and the list of companies and brands to boycott grows longer.

A campaign poster with the photo of a burger with blood coming out of it with text reading "You Kill" and the Burger King logo

A campaign poster to boycott Burger King in Bangkok, Malü

Matt Hunt/ZUMA
Mohammed Hamama

CAIRO — Ali Al-Din’s logic is simple and straightforward: “If you buy a can (of soda), you'll get the bullet too...”

Those bullets are the ones killing the children of Gaza every day, and the can he refuses to buy is “kanzaya” – the popular Egyptian soft drink. It is just one of a long list of products he had the habit of consuming. Ali is nine years old.

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The clarity and simplicity of this logic has pushed Ali Al-Din to boycott all the products on the lists people are circulating of companies that have supported Israel since the attacks on Gaza began in October. His mother, Heba, points out that her son took responsibility for overseeing the boycott in their home.

A few days ago, he saw a can of “Pyrosol” insecticide, but he thought it was one of the products of the “Raid” company that was on the boycott’s lists. He warned his mother that this product was on the boycott list, but she explained that the two products were different. Ali al-Din and his younger brother also abstained from eating any food from McDonald's. “They love McDonald’s very much,” his mother says. “But they refuse.”

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