Going beyond Westminister, war and wealth: in defence of ‘bad’ news

Is news too negative and narrowly focused? Would it be healthier for us to simply shut it out and concentrate on our real lives? Should journalists try harder to accentuate the positive? Branwen Jeffreys argues that journalism must change and be more constructive but it has to stay critical and that hard news is vital to a healthy society. Jeffreys is the BBC’s Education Editor, but this article was written in a personal capacity for a panel debate as part of the Wellcome/Hubbub project. You can listen to the audio of that event here