How the news effects you. Interview with Good News Network Founder Geri Weis-Corbley
ITHP Exclusive Interview | February 1st 2012
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In 1997 Geri Weis-Corbley founded the Good News Network (www.goodnewsnetwork.org) in an effort to bring people a taste of positive news. Over the years the site has become extremely popular and now Geri is viewing the site as a potentially highly lucrative business. ITHP had the chance to interview this extraordinary entrepreneur and ask her some tough questions about the current state of the mass media, how positive and negative news effects us and her plans going forward.
Why is it that every time we turn on the news or pick up a newspaper, we are bombarded with stories of crime, war, death, corruption, etc? Is that what sells or is there something more nefarious behind the headlines?
Well, for one thing, those kinds of stories are the easiest to write. They involve some sudden action -- a bomb, a shooting, a fire -- and so they are easy to document (to collect the when, what, where, how). It might be described as the lazy way to gather the news on any given day. (I don't know if you'd say that was nefarious!) Bad news definitely sells, there is no doubt. But I think if people are given a choice, they would surely choose the good news stories, too. TV producers at NBC got so much mail when they ran a Making A Difference segment every day during one week, that they decided to make it a regular feature. Good news sells too. There are many examples, including the paying subscribers that receive my daily service. Many, many people WANT to feel good and are sick of bad news. News editors hear that from their readers all the time. I liken bad news to junk food. If a child is given junk food, like candy and potato chips every day, they become programmed to crave it. On the other hand, if they are offered a variety of food every day, they will surely choose the baby carrots and yogurt regularly, too. The Good News Network is like a daily dose of health food -- a Vitamin G that supports a better mood and more optimistic outlook, which actually has been shown in many studies to lower your risk of heart disease and other serious health problems.
You've said on your website, "Negative news is an important staple of any well-informed citizenry and necessary for society's evolution." Do you think the negative news on the big networks today still promotes society's evolution?
I'm not against negative news because there are positive outcomes that can occur. Negative stories that inform a citizenry make them smarter voters when electing public officials. Also, when people hear about disasters or problems around the world, they are often inspired to help in some way. I have featured many stories about viewers who have been moved to adopt an orphan, donate an organ, or help a troubled family thousands of miles away, after seeing the story on TV or in the newspaper. Also, people do evolve their opinions on topics if they see continued negative effects of a situation, for instance, climate change, or mining and nuclear disasters.
Does reading positive stories and columns lead to positive behavior?
Yes, indeed. Reading positive stories has many positive effects beyond your health. According to a 2005 study paid for by Bayer, people who hear good news in the morning are more likely to be productive and happy at work. Anecdotally, I recently received several personal comments that support such a claim. In one case, a teacher submitted to the Good News Network a story about his class of students doing charitable work in an amazing way. Later, he posted a comment on after the published story, and wrote: "I have to add that it might be the Good News Network stories that partly inspired my students to do this. As part of listening skills development, I read out news stories I find on this site. The students have to summarize, listen for new words, and ask two questions that cannot be answered from the news story... They find the stories quite intriguing and on some level I like to think that having heard about many other young people doing great things, they were moved to do this. They hope to keep it up the rest of the year with other bake sales etc."
Conversely, are we currently living more depressing and sad lives if we pay attention to the mainstream news?
I think this is definitely true. In one case, a psychologist wrote to me saying he had a suicidal teen in his office who was ready to give it all up because he had heard a story about teen sex slaves. He said the news proves that things are bad and getting worse. Kevin then showed him the Good News Network website. Soon he was smiling. They hugged, and the teen said, "Wow, I guess things aren't so bad after all." If you only hear the depressing news, you will not be as optimistic about the world. People write me all the time about how the site helped them with depression and anxiety about such things. Good news is a brilliantly simple pick-me-up for anyone at any time.
What is the profile of an average reader of the Good News Network? What people do you hope to attract?
I haven't analyzed the demographics I have been collecting on my readers over the last four years, but I noticed that the majority are women, by far, and people who are in their middle years, 30-s, 40's, and 50's -- and certainly a lot of seniors too. I would like to attract more young people, so I am in preliminary discussions with an iPhone developer to produce a good news app!
Are you an advocate of any form of censorship?
No. In fact, I promoted the anti-SOPA campaign on my Facebook Page, which has almost 19,000 members.
If a mainstream network decides that Good News is in fact profitable would you ever consider a sale?
I would consider a sale, but not in the near future. I am working on a TV show for good news, and also a book. Sale or not where do you see yourself ten years from now? I want to be directly involved in producing a TV show for prime time, and creating a 24 hour cable news channel, if the TV show is successful.
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