Constructive Institute
Del
We’re changing the global news culture to foster healthier democracies. Join the movement. In short, constructive journalism can be thought about in two layers.
ABOUT THE CONSTRUCTIVE INSTITUTE
The Constructive Institute is an independent organisation at the heart of the constructive journalism movement. Its mission is to combat trivialisation and degradation of journalism by emphasising reporting that is more accurate, balanced and solutions-focussed. The institute helps journalists and news organisations to apply constructive reporting in their daily work through providing access to an inspiring best practices portal, a world-class fellowship programme, relevant training curricula, and rigorous academic research. We are situated in Aarhus, Denmark and work closely with Aarhus University, a young and modern university that has grown to become a leading public research university with international reach. ABOUT CONSTRUCTIVE JOURNALISM
Constructive journalism is a response to increasing tabloidisation, sensationalism and negativity bias of the news media today. It is an approach that aims to provide audiences with a fair, accurate and contextualised picture of the world, without overemphasising the negative and what is going wrong. While a healthy dose of negativity in the press is undoubtedly necessary, the chronic overexposure of negative constitutes a hidden media bias that has an erosive effect on the societies we live in. The aim of constructive journalism is to combat the trivialisation and degradation of journalism by media that often is more interested in entertaining and creating controversies than informing the citizenship. Constructive journalism is calm in tone, being less focussed on scandals, conflicts and outrage. It reports on important societal issues, setting them in the bigger picture and in their relevant context. Constructive journalism takes journalism’s democratic function seriously, building on the idea that journalism is a feedback mechanism that helps society self-correct. It holds, however, that awareness about a problem alone is unlikely to bring about corrective action. Constructive journalism, therefore, seeks to facilitate public debate not only around important problems, but also around possible solutions to improve the quality and the tone of public discussions. Constructive journalism is not about the “nice and cute”, nor is it positive or soft news that ignores problems. It is “two-eyed journalism”, balanced reporting on both good and the bad in society. Constructive journalism is not activism or advocacy and will never attempt to define the best solution to a problem. The first one is the editorial aspect of picking a calmer tone and not giving into the excess of negativity and sensationalism. The other layer focusses on reporting on responses to social ills.
“This fellowship leaves me with a renewed conviction that our ability to facilitate a curious, engaging and nuanced debate locally as well as globally has never been more vital.”
Journalist and fellow of class 9 Anne Sofie Hoffmann SchrÖder has put together a video capturing some of the highlights from her fellowship 🌱
We think it captures the fellowship experience really well:
The mix of reflecting on the craft and future of journalism, getting new perspectives through travel, talks and courses at Aarhus University, diving into a journalistic project of your own… and, of course, that special folk high school vibe.
Thank you so much for sharing this, Anne Sofie! 💚
25/09/2026
The Croatian interest in constructive journalism is overwhelming 🌱
Today, Constructive Institute CEO Ulrik Haagerup gave a keynote at the conference Weekend.hr.19 which is taking place in Rovinj and bringing together 7,000 participants.
It is the region’s largest festival focused on media, communications and business with speakers and participants from around the world.
Thank you to everyone who joined today’s conversation about how constructive journalism can be a tool to improve and strengthen democracy and fight growing news avoidance - a particularly significant challenge in this part of Europe.
And once again, thank you for your dedication and determination to making tomorrow better than today: to Minister of Culture Nina Obuljen Koržinek and Vice President of Croatian Media Council Robert Tomljenovic, Danish Ambassador Anne Toft Sørensen and Head of Public Diplomacy and Cultural Affairs Tomislav Gugo.
We look forward to more collaboration in the future.
Embassy of Denmark in Croatia
24/09/2026
Huge support in Croatia for expanding the practice of constructive journalism as a tool for fostering dialogue and rebuilding trust in democracy and media 🇭🇷
And a clear need for more permanent constructive journalism training in the polarized region.
Those were the headlines of today’s conversations, as Constructive Institute CEO Ulrik Haagerup met with Minister of Culture Nina Obuljen Koržinek and Vice President of Croatian Media Council Robert Tomljenovic, as well as Danish Ambassador Anne Toft Sørensen and Head of Public Diplomacy and Cultural Affairs Tomislav Gugo.
Tomorrow, Ulrik will be the keynote speaker opening the .19, the biggest media conference in the Central European region.
Exciting and constructive days!
Embassy of Denmark in Croatia
The global movement of constructive journalism is gaining ground in Croatia 🌱
Today, CEO Ulrik Haagerup is meeting with Croatian Minister of Culture Nina Obuljen Koržinek, Danish ambassador Anne Toft Sørensen and Croatian media executives to discuss how constructive journalism can help counter mistrust, polarization and news avoidance.
Tomorrow, Ulrik will deliver a keynote to kick off Weekend.hr, the biggest media conference in the Central European region.
The video clip is from Ulrik’s last visit to the region, where he did a 45-minute interview which was aired on national television in December.
Embassy of Denmark in Croatia
23/09/2026
"For decades, journalism has been based on simple logic: find a problem, find out what doesn't work, find those responsible and ask them tough questions.
Ulrik Haagerup, a long-time Danish journalist and editor and founder of the Constructive Institute, doesn't think the media should give up that role. But he believes that it is no longer enough."
Croatian Forbes has interviewed CEO Ulrik Haagerup prior to his keynote on Friday at the media conference Weekend.19 for the Central European Region.
Link to the article: https://forbes.dnevnik.hr/ljudi/ulrik-haagerup-ljudima-ne-treba-vise-vijesti-trebaju-im-bolje-vijesti/
22/09/2026
🌱Inspiration Day for Journalism Students at Constructive Institute
Today, we welcomed journalism students from Danmarks Medie- og Journalisthøjskole, currently doing their internships, together with their supervisors, for a full day learning more about constructive journalism.
The day - led by Sonja Morell Lundorff and Jesper Steen Himmelstrup - offered a mix of hands-on exercises, presentations and group work.
🗞️ Brian Holst, Editor at Midtjyllands Avis, shared how they work with constructive journalism in their newsroom.
💡 The students worked in groups to explore how they could make their own stories more constructive.
🤖 Our Data Scientist, Clement Peters, introduced the students to the News Mirror project and gave them the opportunity to try out the ‘Constructive Helper’ he has developed.
Thank you for participating - we hope you left with new perspectives and inspiration for your journalism. 🌱
Ulrik Haagerup Simone T Kristensen
“Problems have solutions. There will always be problems in the world, but in order to live and thrive, you also have to find solutions.”
This is how associate professor and expert in positive psychology Hans Henrik Knoop puts it.
He visited us at Constructive Institute to discuss the role of media with our fellows.
According to him, it should also be a task for journalists to share solutions as a way of helping society 🌱
17/09/2026
Visits from Norway 🇳🇴 and Ukraine 🇺🇦
Today 22 Norwegian journalists from Landslaget for Lokalaviser and editors from local newspapers visited us at Constructive Institute to learn about how constructive journalism can play a role in strengthening local media and democracy.
And today we also welcomed 15 Ukrainian photojournalists who got introduced to the three pillars of constructive journalism.
The photojournalists are part of the Nordic-Ukrainian Photojournalism Programme - a joint initiative between the Nordic Journalist Center, the Institute for Regional Media and Information (IRMI Ukraine) and Danmarks Medie- og Journalisthøjskole
Thank you for an inspiring day 🌱
Ulrik Haagerup Esben Seerup Orla Borg
MILESTONE:
10,000 students from Denmark have now been “journalists for a day” at our youth workshops.
Here, we encourage young people to ask critical and curious questions as a way of engaging in democratic conversations.
At Sorø Academy 200 students interviewed 20 politicians.
And it wasn’t only the students who learned something that day 🌱
Be Giant is Canada’s first media outlet dedicated to a constructive journalism strategy, applying the principles of constructive journalism to its daily reporting🌱
Be Giant launched in April 2026, and last week, Executive Editor Sara-Christine Gemson and Managing Editor, Digital, Prajakta Dhopade, visited our Institute to learn more about constructive journalism and explore how its principles can be applied in practice.
Here's their takeways 🌱
We’re very excited to follow the work of Be Giant and their mission to uncover and amplify Canada’s most ambitious ideas and innovations that provide solutions to Canada’s biggest challenges.
Klik her for at gøre krav på din sponsorerede post.
Kontakt den offentlige person
Telefon
Adresse
Aarhus
Underretninger
Bliv den første, der får besked: Vi sender dig en e-mail, når Constructive Institute offentliggør nyheder og tilbud. Din e-mailadresse bliver ikke brugt til andre formål, og du kan til enhver tid afmelde dig.