CBS News effort shows the growth in solutions journalism to combat bad news fatigue

By DAVID BAUDER
AP Media Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Following the news can be relentlessly depressing, so much that some people use that as an excuse for avoiding it. To combat that feeling, there’s been a growth in the idea of “solutions journalism,” or stories that emphasize efforts being made to solve some of society’s problems. For the past year CBS News has been training journalists at its locally-owned stations to look for these kinds of stories. Network news chief Wendy McMahon says it’s time to look beyond what is happening to figuring out ways to help. Proponents of the idea say it takes rigorous reporting to work — that it’s not just looking for good news.