There is nothing simple about conflict. Yet news coverage of many issues — immigration, the economy, health care — is often broken down into simplistic framings and neat soundbites, and the more extreme, the better. The failure of journalism to understand people’s motivations and experiences, rather than their positions, has resulted in misinformation, fear, and distrust. But efforts are afoot to combat this polarization and increase understanding of “the other” through journalism. This panel will highlight new initiatives from BBC, Die Zeit, the Solutions Journalism Network, and NPR, featuring new ways that journalists can report on controversial and polarizing issues in ways that don’t further divide us.

Organised in association with Solutions Journalism Network.