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You Are What You Read: Why changing your media diet can change the world
Do you ever feel overwhelmed and powerless after watching the news? Does it make you feel sad about the world, without much hope for its future? Take a breath – the world is not as bad as the headlines would have you believe. In You Are What You Read , campaigner and researcher Jodie Jackson helps us understand how our current twenty-four-hour news cycle is produced, who decides what stories are selected, why the news is mostly negative and what effect this has on us as individuals and as a society. Combining the latest research from psychology, sociology and the media, she builds a powerful case for including solutions into our news narrative as an antidote to the negativity bias. You Are What You Read is not just a book, it is a manifesto for a it is not a call for us to ignore the negative but rather a call to not ignore the positive. It asks us to change the way we consume the news and shows us how, through our choices, we have the power to improve our media diet, our mental health and just possibly the world.
144 pages, Paperback
First published September 3, 2019
14 people are currently reading
1785 people want to read
About the author
Jodie Jackson
14 books40 followersJodie Jackson is an expert on the psychological impact of the news on our mental health and the health of our society. Her widely cited research has led to regular speaking engagements at media and mental health conferences around the world. Jodie Jackson is a partner at The Constructive Journalism Project and she holds a master’s degree in applied positive psychology.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
January 26, 2025
“If you don’t read the newspaper, you’re uninformed. If you read the newspaper, you’re misinformed.
Mark Twain
“The top four UK news organisations in terms of readership – the Daily Mail, the Sun, the Mirror and the Telegraph, with a combined readership of 110.6 million readers a month – had an obvious pro-Leave bias. Their persuasive position was not based on objectively reporting facts but on manipulating them for their own political agenda.”
It seems that the more obvious and blatant your lies, corruption and criminality the more likely you are to not only get away with it, but also benefit greatly as seen with the likes of Boris Johnson and pretty much the majority of the Tory cabinet.
“The media’s fear of being boring has made them overcompensate with excessive promotion of conflict and violence at an accelerated pace.”
This is also why we have such a growing prevalence of learned helplessness. Jackson is good on the deeply toxic culture of fear mongering, drama generating negativity bias, which benefits only corporate interests and their political cronies. Unfortunately the increasing lack of truth, transparency and responsibility, leads only to greater suspicion and distrust by the general public and ultimately creates and profits from anger, division and distrust on all sides.
“The sensationalisation of violence and conflict in an attempt to push up ratings and reach a larger audience may serve the interest of the networks but it is contrary to the interests of their viewers. Because of this commercially driven negativity bias, we are being denied the opportunity to access agenda free information, one of the United Nation’s ‘most basic freedoms’.”
“It is the public that are serving the needs of the news organisations, rather than the other way around.”
At one point when trying to prove a point about how myths and fallacies can permeate popular culture by telling us that Gandhi was assassinated at 87, but he was actually killed at 78. It puts a clown’s nose on her point. Also Jackson claims that life has improved for most Americans,
“Americans today have a comparative advantage with higher incomes, lower infant mortality, higher life expectancy and more college degrees than their predecessors.”
So this Pinker-esque nonsense is dangerously misleading, first of all Americans are fatter, sicker, lazier, greedier, angrier and more depressed than they have ever been in history. Infant mortality may have decreased but compare it with other wealthy nations and you’ll get a shock. Many also have higher life expectancy, but these are not necessarily better or quality filled years and often they are merely being kept alive by incredibly expensive drugs.
Compare maternity leave and basic welfare with other major nations, they also have the highest incarceration rates in the world, appalling levels of gun control, mass shootings, police intimidation, violence and killing, institutionalised racism, the most expensive health care with only mediocre results and opioid epidemics.
Many may have higher incomes, but those dollars buy a lot less than previous generations and real wages for the vast majority of Americans have either stagnated or decreased since the 1970s and they now struggle with low-paid, precarious work and the only thing those extra college degrees guarantee is a lot more debt which takes even longer to pay off. Add to this the fact that America has never been so feared, distrusted or despised by so many people around the world.
In spite of that rant I enjoyed this, Jackson makes a lot of good points and there was a lot of positive, inspirational and generally interesting stuff in here, which should help many to make a better effort to pursue better quality journalism and more considered writing from their chosen news outlets. Good luck finding those. I’m still looking…
June 22, 2020
"If information is to the mind what food is to the body, then it is time we become aware of the impact of our informational diet on our mental health".
I loved that the idea of the importance of our "media diet" was backed up by loads of academic research. The author is passionate about the subject, she has practical suggestions.
While sometimes there was a feeling of 'page-fillers' to write up a longer book, it is much better to read it rather than aimlessly browse one's social media feed.
"Our more recent tendency to over-consume poor-quality journalism has left us oversupplied and under-informed."
I loved that the idea of the importance of our "media diet" was backed up by loads of academic research. The author is passionate about the subject, she has practical suggestions.
While sometimes there was a feeling of 'page-fillers' to write up a longer book, it is much better to read it rather than aimlessly browse one's social media feed.
"Our more recent tendency to over-consume poor-quality journalism has left us oversupplied and under-informed."
April 22, 2020
You Are What You Read
by
Jodie Jackson
3 Stars
I’m torn between 3 and 4 stars on this book: 4 stars because I think it’s an important topic and I believe the author’s position on it is spot-on, but 3 stars because (as other reviewers have pointed out) it just feels like there’s too much filler in the book. The topic could have been covered well in a long essay. Even a short book (as this is) feels like the author was trying to meet a teacher’s requirement for a minimum number of pages; much of it seems forced and unnecessary.
https://mhassett23.blogspot.com/2020/...
by
Jodie Jackson
3 Stars
I’m torn between 3 and 4 stars on this book: 4 stars because I think it’s an important topic and I believe the author’s position on it is spot-on, but 3 stars because (as other reviewers have pointed out) it just feels like there’s too much filler in the book. The topic could have been covered well in a long essay. Even a short book (as this is) feels like the author was trying to meet a teacher’s requirement for a minimum number of pages; much of it seems forced and unnecessary.
https://mhassett23.blogspot.com/2020/...
February 1, 2021
Está cortito, ligero y trata de manera muy concisa el efecto que tiene el consumo repetitivo de noticias "negativas" sobre nuestra salud mental. La autora propone tener mucho ojo con las fuentes que frecuentamos, ser consumidores conscientes, salir de nuestra burbuja de redes sociales e incluso considerar pagar por medios de calidad. Creo que es un de esos libros que voy a releer o voy a guardar de referencia.
June 6, 2022
Thought-provoking and well-researched. Docked a star because she does become quite repetitive towards the end. Definitely food for thought. Validated what I have been feeling for several years and why I choose to click off news and stay off social media as much as I do. I will be looking for more solutions-based news now that I know what it is called and have a better grasp of the concept.
Some very interesting passages:
As Houdini famously said, ‘What the eyes see and the ears hear, the mind believes.’ In contrast to this, what the eyes don’t see and the ears don’t hear, our mind will never know; you cannot see what you have not been shown. You cannot hear what you have not been told. You cannot understand what has not been explained, and you cannot know what is happening in parts of the world that have been left off the news agenda.
known in psychology as the anchoring effect. Psychologists have known for years that how we are introduced to a subject will colour how we then think of it and process subsequent information about it. Even if we are then told a story that contradicts one we have already heard, we find it hard to move away from our original thought.
It is only by making more proactive choices about who, what, where, when and why we pay attention to the news that we can use it to serve our agenda, rather than us being used to serve theirs.
This information we put into our minds sows the seeds to create these powerful beliefs within us about the world we live in, and these beliefs will be expressed in our thoughts, our words and our behaviour.
It is easy to fool ourselves into thinking our actions don’t make a difference but it is so empowering and fulfilling to have faith that they do. We can generate this faith by suggesting that if our inaction makes a difference locally, nationally and internationally, so too would our action. Feeling helpless is a learned mental state and it can just as easily be unlearned – but we need the right information.
We need to notice achievements alongside failings in order to report on and understand the world more accurately.
Hope is an emotional coping mechanism that is born from a desire for and belief that an imagined and improved future can be carved into creation. Hope is the single most important thing we need to combat our feelings that the world is heading for inevitable doom. We need this emotion to keep us moving forward, even when the odds appear to be stacked against us. We need to believe that a positive outcome is not impossible. It is important to point out here that hope does not require us to ignore negative possibilities. Rather it requires that we do not ignore positive possibilities. In fact, a fundamental prerequisite of hope is a dissatisfaction with the current situation. This dissatisfaction creates a fertile breeding ground for improvement because it creates the desire for something better.
Acknowledging progress is not synonymous with denying problems; we can recognise progress while remaining dissatisfied. And this dissatisfaction must exist for continued improvement to occur – provided it is accompanied by hope.
We can take responsibility for what information we allow into our minds because if we don’t, the industry will decide for us and they may not have our best interests at heart; they may have their own.
It is the narrow-minded pursuit of profit that has pushed the negativity bias beyond a point where it’s helpful to society. The media’s fear of being boring has made them overcompensate with excessive promotion of conflict and violence at an accelerated pace.
However, we must remind ourselves that all freedoms come with responsibility. As we become increasingly aware of the potential harmful effects of the news, we should be asking more questions about the responsibility of news organisations. While the media is a formidable force in holding others to account, they are not very good at turning the lens on themselves. So, we ask ourselves, who holds the media accountable? The answer is: we do. Journalists need an audience; without them their product is worthless.
Under this new model, organisations are investing in production, marketing and data analysis at the expense of good-quality yet time-consuming investigative reporting. By replacing expensive journalists with audience engagement teams, social media experts and data analysts, they are shifting from being news companies that use tech, to tech companies that broadcast news. This is a huge change of purpose that should not be overlooked.
Some very interesting passages:
As Houdini famously said, ‘What the eyes see and the ears hear, the mind believes.’ In contrast to this, what the eyes don’t see and the ears don’t hear, our mind will never know; you cannot see what you have not been shown. You cannot hear what you have not been told. You cannot understand what has not been explained, and you cannot know what is happening in parts of the world that have been left off the news agenda.
known in psychology as the anchoring effect. Psychologists have known for years that how we are introduced to a subject will colour how we then think of it and process subsequent information about it. Even if we are then told a story that contradicts one we have already heard, we find it hard to move away from our original thought.
It is only by making more proactive choices about who, what, where, when and why we pay attention to the news that we can use it to serve our agenda, rather than us being used to serve theirs.
This information we put into our minds sows the seeds to create these powerful beliefs within us about the world we live in, and these beliefs will be expressed in our thoughts, our words and our behaviour.
It is easy to fool ourselves into thinking our actions don’t make a difference but it is so empowering and fulfilling to have faith that they do. We can generate this faith by suggesting that if our inaction makes a difference locally, nationally and internationally, so too would our action. Feeling helpless is a learned mental state and it can just as easily be unlearned – but we need the right information.
We need to notice achievements alongside failings in order to report on and understand the world more accurately.
Hope is an emotional coping mechanism that is born from a desire for and belief that an imagined and improved future can be carved into creation. Hope is the single most important thing we need to combat our feelings that the world is heading for inevitable doom. We need this emotion to keep us moving forward, even when the odds appear to be stacked against us. We need to believe that a positive outcome is not impossible. It is important to point out here that hope does not require us to ignore negative possibilities. Rather it requires that we do not ignore positive possibilities. In fact, a fundamental prerequisite of hope is a dissatisfaction with the current situation. This dissatisfaction creates a fertile breeding ground for improvement because it creates the desire for something better.
Acknowledging progress is not synonymous with denying problems; we can recognise progress while remaining dissatisfied. And this dissatisfaction must exist for continued improvement to occur – provided it is accompanied by hope.
We can take responsibility for what information we allow into our minds because if we don’t, the industry will decide for us and they may not have our best interests at heart; they may have their own.
It is the narrow-minded pursuit of profit that has pushed the negativity bias beyond a point where it’s helpful to society. The media’s fear of being boring has made them overcompensate with excessive promotion of conflict and violence at an accelerated pace.
However, we must remind ourselves that all freedoms come with responsibility. As we become increasingly aware of the potential harmful effects of the news, we should be asking more questions about the responsibility of news organisations. While the media is a formidable force in holding others to account, they are not very good at turning the lens on themselves. So, we ask ourselves, who holds the media accountable? The answer is: we do. Journalists need an audience; without them their product is worthless.
Under this new model, organisations are investing in production, marketing and data analysis at the expense of good-quality yet time-consuming investigative reporting. By replacing expensive journalists with audience engagement teams, social media experts and data analysts, they are shifting from being news companies that use tech, to tech companies that broadcast news. This is a huge change of purpose that should not be overlooked.
April 18, 2024
Interesting and inspirational reading. Well structured, nuanced and reflective while remaining on point and accessible to any reader. It is an important critique of modern journalism business, as well as of recent news consumption, written for news consumers.
At the same time, the book could be better referenced, include more facts, figures and examples, as well as answer additional relevant questions. With respect to the latter, the book lacks a historical review and anchoring of solution-based journalism, positive journalism, the actors that emerged and disappeared, and lessons learned from these experiences. The book also lacks an international perspective or comparative view considering whether some contexts more prone to problem versus solution oriented journalism and why.
At the same time, the book could be better referenced, include more facts, figures and examples, as well as answer additional relevant questions. With respect to the latter, the book lacks a historical review and anchoring of solution-based journalism, positive journalism, the actors that emerged and disappeared, and lessons learned from these experiences. The book also lacks an international perspective or comparative view considering whether some contexts more prone to problem versus solution oriented journalism and why.
January 1, 2021
I won a copy of You Are What You Read by Jodie Jackson in a Goodreads Giveaway and decided to make it my end of the year book for my 2020 Reading Challenge.
I like to read non-fiction books if the subject interests me,and a book about changing your media diet, sounded right up my alley.I've stopped watching the mainstream news and even the so called morning shows because,to me they all seem like "infortainment".
I found myself nodding along in agreement more than once as I read this book,it was very infomative,and it was nice to know I'm not the only one who thinks something stinks with the way news is used these days.
I like to read non-fiction books if the subject interests me,and a book about changing your media diet, sounded right up my alley.I've stopped watching the mainstream news and even the so called morning shows because,to me they all seem like "infortainment".
I found myself nodding along in agreement more than once as I read this book,it was very infomative,and it was nice to know I'm not the only one who thinks something stinks with the way news is used these days.
October 14, 2020
In which the vital job of reporting the news in a solutions-based way is highlighted as opposed to bad news all the time. Hopelessness, bias, hatred and confusion can be altered by the way news is shared and by sharing balance in understanding and knowing there are resolutions that are in fact going on. This way we build positive mind space, positivity, empowerment, empathy, hope, connection and sharing. Which will replace fear, being lost and scared and thinking the world is a terrible place. A brilliant book. We need more feelgood news and more investigative reporting as found in this book.
June 8, 2020
Draws on the negative bias in mainstream media reporting. That the quality of journalism has depreciated in the last 20 years as digital media strives for attention, clicks and to provide entertainment. It's not really enlightening. The author desires a solution based narrative as opposed to the current problem based one. The psychological and societal benefits of this are framed with positive psychology. There's a lot of padding.
May 21, 2023
When media (including companies, editors and journalists) prioritize bad news to make sure they are generating revenue and profits, outlook of world of everyone reflects that. Author does a great job of providing data to show that world has changed for better over last 100+ years, but what we read/see/consume from our media shapes our worldview and only way to improve this is by emphasizing a balanced account of the events and cover both positive and negative events.
March 2, 2023
A thorough, thoughtful and thought-provoking examination into our modern media habits, the monster that we - that's we the consumers - have created and continue to nourish, and what we can do about redressing the balance. Jackson cites a few examples to demonstrate that the power IS with the people. So it looks like it's up to us, people! An empowering and engaging read. 5 stars
January 5, 2023
In this personalization era, I think we all need to choose what to read very carefully.. because once we choose to click & like something, they will keep on giving more. This book is highlighting the importance of filtering the news from all media sources, and I think we need to be aware of it.
April 1, 2024
One of those books where if you're already reading it, you're probably already familar with the studies and research it cites. I think this could've been a long-form article as there is a lot of padding and peddling of the same points.
May 11, 2020
A lot of the content is pretty self explanatory. I did not find new ideas.
May 1, 2021
I appreciated his list of books to read in the appendix
March 24, 2022
A very thought provoking read! Let's hope it influences the media moguls.
July 19, 2022
Accurate but nothing too revelatory. Liberal level insight: halfway there.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews