POSITIVE NEWS NETWORKS

In recent years, the word news has earned an incredibly negative connotation. With wars, political division and crime dominating the headlines, positive articles are truly difficult to find. In fact, when I was brainstorming for this issue, I truly struggled to find things going on in the world that fit the “Celebration of Life.” Most things I found were centered around death: The Queen, The Russo-Ukrainian War and North Korean missile launches. It took me significantly longer to brainstorm for this issue’s theme than last issue’s “Chaos” theme. “I find myself hardly looking at the news anymore because of how hostile everything is. It feels like I only see a positive news story once a month,” said Senior Kylie Frazier. In fact, a study conducted by Reuters Institute found that 42 percent of Americans avoid the news, “with many respondents saying news has a negative effect on their mood.” Although it is difficult to find positive world news, Good News Network does just that. Good News Network (GNN) is an online news platform started in the late 1990s by former CNN employee Geri Weis-Corbley. “Good news itself is not in short supply…GNN was founded because the media was failing to report the positive news,” according to GNN’s website. In a world full of negative news, Good News Network stands out with its solely positive network, stemming beyond just news. On their website, GNN has positive news articles, positive podcasts and even ways to get involved and support their positivity.

GIULI CAPPARELLI, copy editor

With articles titled “Cute Dog Walking Around Golf Course has Collected 6,000 Lost Golf Balls Which Are Donated to Charities’’ and “Kindhearted Boy Used His Birthday Money to Start a Food Bank in His Garden Shed,” Good News Network gives readers a place to go when they need cheering up. In March of 2020, when Covid hit the world, the entire internet was plagued with frightening and disheartening news. Articles titled “How COVID-19 Causes Loss of Smell” and “Man Dies, Woman Hospitalized After Taking Form Of Chloroquine To Prevent COVID-19” covered every news site, every article title sounding scarier than the previous. While the entire nation locked up in their homes, sold-out shelves of water and overall panicked, news stations fueled the fire. To combat this, John Krasinski, best known for his roles in “The Office” and “The Quiet Place,” started his own new channel on Youtube: “Some Good News” (SGN). Some Good News began in late March 2020, when Krasinski felt there was a lack of good news in the media and took matters into his own hands. Krasinski took to Twitter and asked his fans to send in all of the “feel good” stories they could find. He then started recording on a camera at his home desk and got to sharing. In his first episode, Krasinski included an interview from Steve Carell, also known as Michael Scott, as well as an interview with Coco, a 15-year-old girl who had just finished her last Chemo treatment. Along with sharing good news, Krasinski hosted fun events on the show. He reunited the cast of “The Office”, held a virtual prom for the class of 2020 and hosted a Holiday special with celebrity guest stars. Krasinski saw the world’s agony during these difficult times and used his fame and influence to create a form of happiness for people around the world. As well as helping those around the world, the series helped Krasinski himself get through the tough time. Krasinski explained, “[The creation of SGN was] the most emotionally fulfilled I’ve ever felt in my entire life,” and that, “I’ve received the most amazingly kind notes about how much that show mean to everyone, but the truth is, it meant no more to anyone than me.” Some Good News provided people an escape from a low point that we were all stuck in, and John Krasinski made sure that the show truly lived up to its name.