1. We, the professional members of the Constructive Network, believe that constructive journalism is inspired by a definition of communication as the opening of a common space, a space of relationship between those who inform and the public, in which we exchange gifts with each other in a climate of collaboration.
2. We wish to affirm the moral contribution of our constructive approach, underlining how our journalistic activity responds to the principles of communication ethics.
3. The main models of communication ethics as identified so far in philosophy revolve around these pillars of the communication process:
- The “nature” of the human being;
- The concept of dialogue;
- An understanding of audience and the context;
- The profit principle;
- The communication community.
The first four find their foundation and motivation in the final concept
4. The first model of communication ethics focuses on the existence of the specifically communicative nature of the human person. If it is assumed that the nature of mankind is fundamentally good, any communicative act that conforms to this essence of the human being can itself be defined as “good”. If it is assumed that the nature of man is evil, any communicative act that does not conform to this nature of the human being can be defined as “good”.
5. Constructive journalism starts from the assumption that humanity’s nature is basically good.
What do we mean by “good”? We mean active, pro-active, encouraging. Consequently, the journalist who works from a constructive perspective aims, not only to inform, but to act concretely in favor of the reader, to propose possible solutions to problems, to motivate the reader, where appropriate to change the conditions of the community in which they live, if these are not satisfactory. In other words, the constructive journalist is a professional who honors his own (good) essence and that of the public.
6. The second pillar of communication ethics refers to the principle of dialogue.
According to this paradigm, communicating well means dialogue, that is:
being open to listening to the arguments and opinions of others, showing attention and respect for them; considering the reader/listener/viewer a subject capable of speech and thought, and not an object to be dominated; and showing your intention to reach an agreement with him/her.
7. Constructive journalism believes that information should be based on the principle of dialogue. What do we mean by “dialogue”? Simply put, it means the ability to empathize with readers. Thus, the constructive journalist wishes to put him/herself in the other person’s position, without creating confusion, in order to help him/her deal with difficult or problematic situations. In essence, the constructive journalist is a professional who considers readers/listeners/viewers to be interlocutors in all respects, with whom it is possible to co-create the news.
8. The third pillar of communication ethics focuses on audience and context.
According to this insight, good communication involves reaching out to the interlocutor, understood as responding to his/her needs, and to the conditions and circumstances in which he/she is operating. Those who communicate must be understandable and engaging but must not conform their own message to the views of others to the point of distorting, watering down or giving up their own positions.
9. Constructive journalism takes great care of the internal context of a news story and the external context in which it is delivered.
What do we mean by “care”? It means essentially the desire not to betray the set of circumstances and relationships in which a story is situated, while at the same time, making every effort not to let down the recipients of the news. Therefore, the act of communication of the constructive journalist aims to tell the news story in its entirety, without omitting, exaggerating or minimizing the facts, and aims to respond to the information needs of the public without becoming in any way their ‘accomplice’. The professional reports a fact in full and id aware of the possibility of ‘educating’ those who consume the news.
10. The fourth pillar of good communication ethics is based on the concept of usefulness. The benefit that ethical communication seeks to bring about, in this case, is ‘social’ and not individual: those who communicate aim for the greatest possible good for the greatest possible number of people and for as long as possible. The idea of universal benefit has today been replaced by sectoral benefit which, more realistically, gives voice to the needs of a given group of people.
11. Constructive journalism believes that information should be based on the principle of usefulness. What do we mean by ‘useful’? Simply that material produced should be in the interests of the community of readers, spectators, listeners or internet users, and not those of editors and journalists themselves. Thus, the journalist who works constructively tries to insert ‘problem setting’ and ‘problem solving’ in his/her work so that the possibilities of change inherent in society can be realized. The professional thus becomes an agent of change for the community, as he pursues a social benefit, generating awareness and the will to improve in individuals.
12. The fifth and final pillar of good communication ethics assumes the existence of a communication community of which we are all part.
The study of ethics in communication was developed by two German thinkers: Karl-Otto Apel and Jürgen Habermas. Both identify ethical principles and specific regulatory constraints within the communicative process followed by rational persons.
13. For Apel, the first to develop the idea of an ‘unlimited community of communication’ (an ideal certainly, but one capable of inspiring such a community), individuals communicate well if they sense the moral norms present in the communicative act, as obligations. For contemporary philosophy, obligation becomes an option for the individual who, when left free to choose, can be said to be responsible for his own actions.
Apel’s standards are:
- Justice: the equal right, for all possible discourse partners, to express their thoughts and obtain possible consensus.
- Solidarity: the mutual support and mutual dependence of the interlocutors, with the common aim of reaching a discussion-based solution to problems.
- Co-responsibility: the joint effort made by all interlocutors to articulate and resolve problems.
14. For Habermas, communicative activity (which is seen as quite separate from ‘strategic’ or ‘instrumental’ activity which aims to affirm one’s own self and one’s theses) the interlocutors must follow procedural principles; the ‘right or wrong’ question is based on the quality of the engagement, not on the content expounded (so as not to limit freedom of speech).
For Habermas, the claims of validity which a communicator should advance are:
- Comprehensibility: the attribution of a universally understandable meaning to what is being argued, in order to allow all parties to understand each other.
- Truth and veracity: the correspondence of what is being said to the facts, and the need to affirm what one believes to be true.
- Normative correctness: the choice of correct expressions in reference to certain shared norms and values, to arrive at a free comparison, so as to measure, on the basis of a reasoned consensus, the validity of the different propositions.
15. Constructive journalism addresses the real community, appealing to the ‘ideal’ community of communication.
What do we mean by ‘appeal’? It means taking inspiration from the good rules that characterize it. Consequently, the constructive journalist provides clear, accurate, understandable, reliable, fair, reasoned, and argumentative news, aimed at articulating and solving the problems that emerge within society. Furthermore, he/she feels solidarity with his interlocutors, in the common search for solutions, and is open to constant and humble discussion with them.
16. We promote information that aims at a constructive narration of facts and phenomena because we believe in the inherent good communicative nature of human beings, the importance of dialogue with the public, respect for the internal and external context of the news, the pursuit of a social benefit through our activity, and the importance of belonging to a communication community in which the communicative action itself can be defined as something ethical.
17. We believe that constructive journalism can improve the sharing of information, calling it back to the moral principles which characterize it in its fundamental role as a public service for the community.
The initial promoters of this Charter are professionals belonging to Constructive Network, who met in Bologna, Italy, on 7 March 2022, at a training session of the Order of Journalists of Emilia Romagna: Deborah Annolino, Mariangela Campo, Dora Carapellese, Dolores Carnemolla, Assunta Corbo, Nadia Gianmarco, Isa Grassano, Cristina Mignini, Anna Romanin, Mariagrazia Villa.
The final draft of the Charter is the Italian version as edited by Mariagrazia Villa, President of the Ethics Committee of the Constructive Network