Summary
When the narrative of reality is completely levelled out on the dynamics of negativity, “which thinks that good news does not sell, and where the tragedy of human suffering and the mystery of evil easily turn into entertainment” there is always the temptation “that our consciences can be dulled or slip into desperation.” The spotlight was placed by Francis in his Message for the 51st World Communications Day. Efforts, writes the Pope, “should be geared at overcoming that feeling of growing discontent and resignation that can at times generate apathy, fear or the idea that evil has no limits.”
“Bad news is good news”, is a renowned motto of US journalism. It’s a guiding rule based on the assumption that readers feel more involved by tragic events that create an emotional response. But when the narrative of reality is levelled out on the dynamics of negativity, “which thinks that good news does not sell, and where the tragedy of human suffering and the mystery of evil easily turn into entertainment” there is always the temptation “that our consciences can be dulled or slip into desperation.” The spotlight was placed by Francis in his Message for the 51st World Communications Day “Fear not, for I am with you” (Is 43:5). Communicating Faith and Hope in our Time. The Pope’s invitation is “to break the vicious circle of anxiety and stem the spiral of fear” resulting from a constant focus on “bad news” (wars, terrorism, scandals and all sorts of human failure).
The lens to see. Francis does not ask us to ignore the tragedies of our times, such as the flows of migrants in desperate search of a land that will welcome them, nor the social inequalities causing mounting poverty. As he said in one of his first audiences after his election: “When the stock market drops 10 points in some cities it constitutes a tragedy. Someone who dies is not news, but lowering income by 10 points is a tragedy!” Instead, remaining true to the principle of reality that cannot be derogated, the Pope points out that “this has nothing to do with spreading misinformation that would ignore the tragedy of human suffering, nor is it about a naive optimism blind to the scandal of evil”; on the contrary,
Efforts should be geared at “overcoming that feeling of growing discontent and resignation that can at times generate apathy, fear or the idea that evil has no limits.”
In this passive acceptance of a world that appears impossible to change Francis’ appeal is “to contribute to the search for an open and creative style of communication that never seeks to glamourize evil but instead to concentrate on solutions and to inspire a positive and responsible approach on the part of its recipients.” “Reality has no one clear meaning”, the Pope pointed out. “Everything depends on the way we look at things, on the lens we use to view them: if we change that lens, reality itself appears different.”
For Christians, the lens that can decode reality can only be that of the Gospel: “This good news – Jesus himself – is not good because it has nothing to do with suffering, but rather because suffering itself becomes part of a bigger picture. It is seen as an integral part of Jesus’ love for the Father and for all mankind.”
Bearing witness to a new humanity. In his fourth Message for the World Day of Social Communications – after having addressed the themes of the culture of the encounter, the family and mercy -, Francis tackles the dynamics of communication reversing the paradigm of negativity: “every new tragedy that occurs in the world’s history can also become a setting for good news, inasmuch as love can find a way to draw near and to raise up sympathetic hearts, resolute faces and hands ready to build anew.”
“Being ‘witnesses’ and ‘communicators’ of a new and redeemed humanity”
is what we should be inspired by, “with the conviction that it is possible to recognize and highlight the good news present in every story and in the face of each person.” In bad news, good news.
