In einer Redaktion arbeiten viele verschiedene Menschen. Unter anderem der oder die Chefin vom Dienst. Aber was macht solch ein CvD genau? Das schauen wir uns im aktuellen Behind the Scenes bei Focus Online genauer an.
‘Significant jump’ in sea levels alarms NASA, ‘Four billion people caught in heat trap’. Admittedly: Looking at the figures and data on extreme weather and rising sea levels can send shivers down your spine despite the hot temperatures. And to prevent the melting ice from falling out of your hand from all the bad climate news, the Focus Online Earth team has been committed to constructive reporting since 2023. It would be easy to bury your head in the (red-hot) sand in the face of all the bad news - but let's be honest: who wants sand in their ears? It's better to keep a cool head and tackle the issue of climate change with solutions rather than scaremongering.
‘Our aim is for people to engage with the topic of climate change without feeling totally hopeless,’ says Florian Reiter, Editor at Focus Online Earth.
And this is achieved above all by the fact that the articles not only provide facts, but also point out solutions - without pointing a finger. Editor Stefanie Haas puts it in a nutshell: ‘We say: “Hey, this is the situation, here's what you can do about it” ’.
The aim is therefore not to spread panic or get lost in ideological debates, but to promote optimism and highlight positive examples. Most people know that air travel, fossil fuels and excessive meat consumption harm the climate. But do you also know the 10 mega climate projects that show that Germany is already further ahead than many people think? This is how climate journalism works, but constructively. ‘We see that solution-oriented shoots often work very well when it comes to climate change,’ explains Linda Hinz, who heads Focus Online Earth.
For the editorial team, it's the famous ‘thinking one step ahead’. After all, there is a lot of reporting on climate news, but ‘if you only describe the problem but not the solutions, then you don't adequately reflect reality,’ explains Florian.
At the same time, what counts in online journalism is not only relevance but also reach and clicks. And to prevent users from turning away from climate news altogether, it is important to show new perspectives and provide encouragement. ‘This approach makes it easier for people because they see a difficult topic that affects us all combined with glimmers of hope,’ says Linda.
And this solution-orientated approach is paying off. Every month, Focus Online Earth's articles reach around eight million page views. In strong months, Focus Online Earth achieves over ten million page views. Focus Online Earth currently has five permanent team members, with additional reporters from the Focus Online editorial team providing support on specific topics. In addition to Florian, Stefanie and Linda at the Munich office, Jacqueline Arend works for Earth in Berlin and Frank Gerstenberg in Cologne. ‘The fact that we have a permanent team means that we really do give climate change a place in our reporting every day - and not just when climate issues are “hot”,’ says Linda.
User feedback is inevitable. "Of course, we also get comments from people who doubt the existence of climate change and sometimes criticise the purpose of our work. But what outweighs this is the encouragement for our work, including a lot from people who are normally less concerned with the topic. And they are a very exciting target group for us," reports Stefanie.
In addition to all the positive feedback, it is also clear that anyone who deals with rising sea levels, melting glaciers and the consequences for humanity on a daily basis needs a thick skin despite the heatwave. "That's why it's so important for us personally to look ahead: to keep thinking: What are the solutions? What can we do? What room for manoeuvre do we have?" explains Stefanie.
For the Earth team, the focus on sustainable solutions extends beyond the desk. Keyword conscious consumption: "For me personally, for example, one of the most important realisations was to buy a lot of second-hand items. Platforms like vinted are now totally established," reports Stefanie. And Florian says: "I discovered refurbished smartphones for myself. Instead of buying a new one, I buy a second-hand one". Good for the environment and your wallet. ‘At the same time, it must be made clear that the individual level naturally quickly reaches its limits compared to the larger systemic level,’ Florian continues. Shifting responsibility for a global problem to individuals alone is not expedient, he says.
And yet, in addition to the big levers, there are also small changes that encourage individual users and alleviate the feeling of powerlessness. All of this motivates them to continue researching, investigating and reporting constructively on the topic of climate change.
"With Focus Online and this large user base, we have the opportunity to reach people who perhaps wouldn't go to a portal on the subject of sustainability and climate on their own initiative. The fact that we manage to reach such people with our solution-orientation and impart important knowledge is something that drives me personally," says Linda. And Stefanie adds: "This threat from climate change is real and if we prepare for it in good time, we can survive it quite well. Being part of this work is something that really fulfils me."
➡️ The inspiring work of Linda and her team is perfect for reading at the quarry pond or in front of the fan on the sofa. If you're curious, why not take a look at Focus Online Earth (German only)?
