research list:
Solutions journalism and
constructive journalism

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Latest update: January 28, 2021 (new items added in bold )
Created: January 2018

​This list is by no means exhaustive, but simply a starting point to discover research-oriented resources for solutions and constructive journalism. Please share the link and if you see something missing, please let me know (KyserL[at]UGA.edu) and I'll add it.

If you find this list helpful, a suggested citation might reference the growing body of academic research on solutions and constructive journalism and cite: Lough, K. (2018) Research List: Solutions journalism and constructive journalism. KyserLough.com. Retrieved [month date, year] from www.kyserlough.com/solutionsjournalism.
​

Academic peer-reviewed journal publications

• Lough, K. & McIntyre, K. (2021). Transitioning to solutions journalism: One newsroom's shift to solutions-focused reporting. Journalism Studies.
• Li, M. (2020). The Synergistic Effects of Solutions Journalism and Corporate Social Responsibility Advertising. Digital Journalism, 1-28.
• Daoust-Boisvert, A. & Bérard, D. (2020). Journalisme de solutions: une pratique marginale en émergence au Canada. Les Cahiers du journalisme - Recherches [Language: French with English abstract]
• Hermans, L. & Prins, T. (2020). Interest matters: The effects of constructive news reporting on Millennials’ emotions and engagement. Journalism.
• Serrano-Puche, J. (2020) . Periodismo constructivo: una respuesta a las razones de los usuarios para evitar las noticias. Cuadernos.info [Language: Spanish with English abstract]
• McIntyre, K. (2020). “Tell Me Something Good”: Testing the Longitudinal Effects of Constructive News Using the Google Assistant. Electronic News.
• Abdenour, J., McIntyre, K., & Dahmen, N. S. (2020). Seeing Eye to Eye: A Comparison of Audiences’ and Journalists’ Perceptions of Professional Roles and How They Relate to Trust. Journalism Practice.
• Midberry, J., & Dahmen, N. S. (2019). Visual Solutions Journalism: A Theoretical Framework. Journalism Practice.
• Thier, K., Abdenour, J., Walth, B., & Dahmen, N. S. (2019). A narrative solution: The relationship between solutions journalism, narrative transportation, and news trust. Journalism.
• McGinty, E. E., Stone, E. M., Kennedy-Hendricks, A., Sanders, K., Beacham, A., & Barry, C. L. (2019). US news media coverage of solutions to the opioid crisis, 2013–2017. Preventive medicine.
• Ciftci, D. (2019). The Application of Solutions Journalism: Strategic Communications and Public Affairs Group in Somalia. Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies.
• Walth, B., Dahmen, N. S., & Thier, K. (2019). A new reporting approach for journalistic impact: Bringing together investigative reporting and solutions journalism. Newspaper Research Journal.
• Kogen, L. (2019). News you can use or news that moves? Journalists’ rationales for coverage of distant suffering. Journalism Practice.
• Dahmen, N. S., Thier, K., & Walth, B. (2019). Creating engagement with solutions visuals: testing the effects of problem-oriented versus solution-oriented photojournalism. Visual Communication.
• Powers, E. & Curry, A. (2019). No quick fix: How journalists assess the impact and define the boundaries of solutions journalism. Journalism Studies.
• Atanasova, D. (2019). Moving society to a sustainable future: The framing of sustainability in a constructive media outlet. Environmental Communication.
• Amiel, P., & Powers, M. (2019). A Trojan Horse for marketing? Solutions journalism in the French regional press. European Journal of Communication.
• McIntyre, K., & Lough, K. (2019). Toward a clearer conceptualization and operationalization of solutions journalism. Journalism.
• Baden, D., McIntyre, K. & Homberg, F. (2018). The Impact of Constructive News on Affective and Behavioural Responses. Journalism Studies.
• Dagoula, C. (2018). Constructive journalism. Journal of Applied Journalism & Media Studies.
• Wenzel, A. (2018). Red state, purple town: Polarized communities and local journalism in rural and small-town Kentucky. Journalism.
• Ahva, L. & Hautakangas, M. (Eds.). (2018). Constructive Forms in Journalism [Special issue]. Journalism Practice. This is the second special issue dedicated to constructive journalism.
  • Ahva, L. & Hautakangas, M. (2018). Introduction: Why do we suddenly talk so much about constructiveness? Journalism Practice.
  • McIntyre, K., & Gyldensted, C. (2018). Positive Psychology as a Theoretical Foundation for Constructive Journalism. Journalism Practice.
  • Hermans, L. & Drok, N. (2018). Placing Constructive Journalism in Context. Journalism Practice. 
  • Aitamurto, T. & Varma, A. (2018). The Constructive Role of Journalism: Contentious metadiscourse on constructive journalism and solutions journalism. Journalism Practice. 
  • From, U. & Kristensen, N.N. (2018) Rethinking Constructive Journalism by Means of Service Journalism. Journalism Practice. 
  • Hautakangas, M. & Ahva, L. (2018). Introducing a New Form of Socially Responsible Journalism: Experiences from the Conciliatory Journalism Project. Journalism Practice. 
  • Kovacevic, P. & Perisin, T. (2018). The Potential of Constructive Journalism Ideas in a Croatian Context. Journalism Practice. 
  • Meier, K. (2018). How Does the Audience Respond to Constructive Journalism? Two experiments with multifaceted results. Journalism Practice.
  • Løvlie, A.S. (2018). Constructive Comments? Designing an online debate system for the Danish Broadcasting Corporation. Journalism Practice. 
• Mast, J., Coesemans, R., & Temmerman, M. (Eds.). (2018). Constructive journalism [Special issue] Journalism. This is the first-ever special issue dedicated to constructive journalism.
  • Mast, J., Coesemans, R., & Temmerman, M. (2018). Introduction: Constructive journalism: Concepts, practices, and discourses. Journalism.
  • Bro, P. (2018). Constructive journalism: Proponents, precedents, and principles. Journalism.
  • Bødker, H. (2018). Cafébabel and ‘Génération Bataclan’: Cosmopolitan identities and/as constructive European news. Journalism.
  • Hermans, L. & Gyldensted, C. (2018). Elements of constructive journalism: Characteristics, practical appli- cation and audience valuation. Journalism.
  • Wagemans, A., Witschge, T., & Harbers, F. (2018). Impact as driving force of journalistic and social change. Journalism.
  • Kleemans, M., Dohmen, R., Schlindwein, L. F., Tamboer, S. L., de Leeuw, R. N., & Buijzen, M. (2018). Children’s cognitive responses to constructive television news. Journalism.
  • Lough, K. & McIntyre, K. (2018). Visualizing the Solution: An analysis of the images that accompany solutions-oriented news stories. Journalism.
  • Rotmeijer, S. (2018). ‘Words that work?’Practices of constructive journalism in a local Caribbean context. Journalism.
  • Wiard, V. & Simonson, M. (2018). “The city is ours, so let’s talk about it”: Constructing a citizen media initiative in Brussels. Journalism.
• McIntyre, K., Lough, K. & Manzanares, K. (2018). Solutions in the shadows: The effects of incongruent visual messaging in solutions journalism news stories. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly.​
• Jacobson, S., Marino, J. & Gutsche Jr, R. (2018). Should there be an app for that? : An analysis of interactive applications within longform news stories. Journal of Magazine Media, 18 (2).
• Lough, K. & McIntyre, K. (2018). Journalists’ perceptions of solutions journalism and its place in the field. Research Journal of the International Symposium on Online Journalism.
• Lichtenstein, D., Esau, K., Pavlova, L., Osipov, D., & Argylov, N. (2018). Framing the Ukraine crisis: A comparison between talk show debates in Russian and German television. International Communication Gazette.​
• McIntyre, K. & Gyldensted, C. (2017). Constructive Journalism: An Introduction and Practical Guide for Applying Positive Psychology Techniques to News Production. The Journal of Media Innovations, 4(2), 20-34.
• McIntyre, K. (2017). Solutions Journalism: The effects of including solution information in news stories about social problems. Journalism Practice.
• Kleemans, M., de Leeuw, R. N., Gerritsen, J., & Buijzen, M. (2017). Children’s Responses to Negative News: The Effects of Constructive Reporting in Newspaper Stories for Children. Journal of Communication, 67(5), 781-802.
• Kogen, L., & Dilliplane, S. (2017). How Media Portrayals of Suffering Influence Willingness to Help. Journal of Media Psychology.
• Abdenour, J., McIntyre, K., & Dahmen, N. S. (2017). Putting Broadcast News in Context: An Analysis of US Television Journalists’ Role Conceptions and Contextual Values. Electronic News.
• Mclntyre, K., & Sobel, M. (2017). Motivating news audiences: Shock them or provide them with solutions?. Communication & Society, 30(1).
• McIntyre, K., & Sobel, M. (2017). Reconstructing Rwanda: How Rwandan reporters use constructive journalism to promote peace. Journalism Studies, 1-22.
• Wenzel, A., Gerson, D., Moreno, E., Son, M., & Morrison Hawkins, B. (2017). Engaging stigmatized communities through solutions journalism: Residents of South Los Angeles respond. Journalism.
• Dahmen, N. S. (2016). Images of Resilience: The Case for Visual Restorative Narrative. Visual Communication Quarterly, 23(2), 93-107.
• McIntyre, K., Dahmen, N. S., & Abdenour, J. (2016). The contextualist function: US newspaper journalists value social responsibility. Journalism
• Thier, K. (2016). Opportunities and Challenges for Initial Implementation of Solutions Journalism Coursework. Journalism & Mass Communication Educator, 71(3), 329-343.
• Zhang, Y., & Matingwina, S. (2016). A new representation of Africa? The use of constructive journalism in the narration of Ebola by China Daily and the BBC. African Journalism Studies.

Book Chapters

• Byrd, L. S. (2021). At the Intersection of Media Innovation and Solutions Journalism: Applying the Solutions Journalism Model to Develop Socially Conscious Entrepreneurs. In Cultivating Entrepreneurial Changemakers Through Digital Media Education (pp. 208-222). IGI Global.
• Thier, K. (2019). Interviewing for Solutions. In P. Laufer & J. Russial (Eds.), Interviewing: The Oregon Method (2nd ed., pp. 163-172). Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University Press.
• Pirolli, B. (2018). A Constructive Approach to Tourism Reporting. In Travel Journalism: Informing Tourists in the Digital Age. Routledge.
• Krüger, U. (2017). Constructive News: A New Journalistic Genre Emerging in a Time of Multiple Crises. In: Hofkirchner W., Burgin M. (eds) The Future Information Society: Social and Technological Problems. New Jersey: World Scientific, pp. 403-422
• Zhang, Y., & Matingwina S. (2016) Constructive Journalism: A New Journalistic Paradigm of Chinese Media in Africa. In: Zhang X., Wasserman H., Mano W. (eds) China’s Media and Soft Power in Africa. Palgrave Series in Asia and Pacific Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, New York

Dissertations and Theses
Doctoral

• McIntyre, K. (2015). Constructive journalism: The effects of positive emotions and solution information in news stories. Doctoral Dissertation, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Master

• Sørensen, Mai-Britt. (2020). Journalists' use of constructive journalism: a comparison between Norway and Ethiopia. Master's Thesis, NLA Høgskolen, Norway
• Nelimarkka, I. (2020). Ratkaisukeskeisyys ja asiantuntijuus ilmastojournalismissa. Master's Thesis, University of Vaasa, Finland. [Language: Finnish]
• Fatima, S. S. (2020). Understanding the Construction of Journalistic Frames during Crisis Communication: Editorial Coverage of COVID-19 in New York Times. Master's Thesis, Södertörn University, Sweden.
• Höhle, J. (2020). Bridging Cognitive and Emotional Learning - Didactical Contributions of Constructive Journalism to Climate Change Education. Master's Thesis, Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University
• Schoeppl, M. (2019). Visueller Konstruktiver Journalismus Konzepte und visuelle Codes. Master's Thesis, FH Joanneum University of Applied Sciences. [Language: German with English abstract]
• Urlbauer, L. (2019). Data Visualizations: Investigating their Effects on the Perception of Solutions Journalism. Master's Thesis, University of Amsterdam. [Additional content: Blog post summary of findings]
• Andersson, S. (2019). Putting Peace in the Frame: Alternative US Media Framing of the War in Syria. Master's Thesis, Södertörn University, Sweden.
• Alvsen, I. L. (2018) Å se verden med to øyne- en kvalitativ studie i Danmarks Radios arbeid med konstruktiv journalistikk. Master's Thesis, Nord Universitet, Norway. [Language: Norwegian]
• Porter, A. (2018). Discovering Solutions: How are journalists applying solutions journalism to change the way news is reported and what do they hope to accomplish? Master's Thesis, University of North Texas.
• Kozminski M. A. (2018). L'effet du journalisme constructif sur le lectorat d'un site Web d'information. Master’s Thesis, Université de Montréal. [Language: French with English abstract]
• Poort, M. (2018). Constructive Journalism: An answer to the negativity of the news?: A focus group study on the view on and the effects of constructive journalism in a European setting. Master’s Thesis, Södertörn University, Sweden.
• Weldingh, L. (2018). Nyhedskriterier I Konstruktiv Journalistik. Master's Thesis, University of Southern Denmark. [Language: Danish with English abstract]
• Rossbach, A. (2017). Constructive Journalism: The Effects of Using Positive Psychology To Create Narratives in Modern-Day Journalism in Russia. Master's Thesis, Saint Petersburg State University & Freie University Berlin. 
• Jackson, J. (2016). Publishing the Positive: Exploring the motivations for and the consequences of reading solutions-focused journalism. Master’s Thesis, University of East London, United Kingdom.
• Gyldensted, C. (2011). Innovating News Journalism through Positive Psychology. Master's Thesis, University of Pennsylvania.

Bachelor

• Anderson, A. (2020). Educate Me: The Use of Solutions Journalism in The Seattle Times' Education Lab. Senior Project, Western Washington University. [Additional content: Link to podcast]
• Prokscha, A. (2019). Probleme und Behandlungsempfehlungen bei Solutions Journalism. Bachelor's Thesis, University of Vienna. [Language: German]
• Hampton, E. N. (2017). Solutions Journalism and the Nonprofit Sector: Turning Hesitancy to Hope. Bachelor's Thesis, University of Oregon.

Books

• Dodd, B. (2021). Solutions Journalism: News at the Intersection of Hope, Leadership, and Expertise
• Jackson, J. (2019). You Are What You Read
• Haagerup, U. (2017). Constructive News: How to save the media and democracy with journalism of tomorrow
• Gyldensted, C. (2015). From Mirrors to Movers: Five Elements of Constructive Journalism

Other academic resources

• Overgaard, C. S. B., & Stroud, N.J. (2020). Coronavirus coverage: The effects of headlines and images on Facebook.
• Kramp, L., & Weichert, S. (2020). Nachrichten mit Perspektive – Lösungsorientierter und konstruktiver Journalismus in Deutschland. [Language: German]
• Murray, C., & Stroud, N. J. (2019). The Keys to Powerful Solutions Journalism.
• Curry, A. L., & Stroud, N. J. (2016). Writing Solutions Headlines.
• Curry, A. L., Stroud, N. J., & McGregor, S. (2016). Solutions Journalism and News Engagement. 
• McGregor, S. C., & Stroud, N. J. (2016). How One Community Responded to Solutions Journalism
• Curry, A. L., & Hammonds, K. H. (2014). The Power of Solutions Journalism. 

Organizations

• The Solutions Journalism Network
• The Constructive Journalism Network
• The Constructive Journalism Project
• The Constructive Institute
• Constructive Voices
• The Catalyst Journalism Project

​News resources

• The New York Times (2016). Fixes.
• Kasriel, E. (2016a). Introducing a new tool for news : Solutions-Focused Journalism. 
• Kasriel, E. (2016b). Why we need Solutions-Focused Journalism. 
• Scott, C. (2016). Why solutions journalism is guiding editorial decisions at The Huffington Post. 
• Tenore, M. J. (2016). Defining Restorative Narrative, a strength-based storytelling genre.
• Tenore, M.J. (2014). How constructive journalism can improve the way media makers tell stories.
• Bansal, S., & Martin, C. (2015). Solutions Journalism Toolkit.
• Benesch, S. (1998). The rise of solutions journalism. Columbia Journalism Review, 36(6), 36.