I like driving. I like it a lot. In fact I’m what you might call a driving enthusiast. However. I hate driving on the highway. It’s all the same. It’s crowded. It gives me no pleasure what so ever – mainly because it’s all about going in a straight line at a constant speed. Most of the time it’s necessary to stay on this relentless stretch of road, if I want to get somewhere fast. But why am I always in such a hurry?
Exclusive peek into test center for constructive journalism
That’s why I always take the smaller b-roads. Here the car comes alive. I can feel the mechanics, the weight and the sensation of driving. I have to be involved to get the most of it. And you know what? On the b-roads I can take a break and contemplate about life, nature and maybe also hope. And while driving I have a view that I do not get on the highway.
And what does this have to do with journalism, TV 2/Fyn or constructive journalism, you might ask?
Our publications (...) was for quite some time comparable to the highway. Full speed ahead.
Well, recently we at TV 2/Fyn have taken a pause and looked at our publications on mainly the digital platforms. It was, for a time quite comparable to the highway. Full speed ahead, crowded and always in a hurry.
So we decided to take the off-ramp and spend some time in a slower pace and focus on the immersive experience of the genre known as web docs. Granted, this is not a new format. But it is new for us to dedicate resources, manpower and time to the endeavor.
We cover a lot of topics in these web docs, but our main focus is on hope, adventure and people. Always people!
Mads Boel, Editorial Director, TV 2/Fyn
The stories always has a starting point in classic journalism, but we do not linger on this. We focus on the individual with an interesting story. We did one on a group of volunteers called “the yellow helpers”. They drive around in their old van and pick up surplus food from the local supermarkets and then sell it to people in need. For very little money they get a shopping basket full of groceries.
And then there was the story about a special lottery concept in a small town. The event happens every Sunday and is completely run by volunteers. The money from attendance go to local development in new sports facilities and in return the participants get an entertaining Sunday evening. And mind you. This has been going on for 50 years.
The outcome is so much better than your ordinary treadmill-journalism.
Another story is about gaming but with the approach that gaming is for everyone. And by reading and watching the doc you may get a bit more insight into the mindset of your child or grandchild.
These products take a good amount of time to produce. But the outcome is so much better than your ordinary treadmill-journalism. But do we get the payoff we hope? Not always. Some of them only have 1500 views while others have more than 30.000 views. But the number of people visiting is not the only factor. The one about gaming has an engagement time of over 6 minutes. And the one about the lottery keeps the readers hooked for about 3 minutes.
So, we will continue exploring the possibility of producing journalism with hope and inspiration as a driver. Maybe we will give people an experience. But I know that we are shedding light on all the fascinating angles you can put on classic journalism.
We produce one web doc a week. Maybe you should take the b-roads on the way to work once a week. Because out there the journey and the car comes to life. Just like journalism comes to life when you put an effort into the storytelling and production.