Welcome to the Goodnewspaper. You are now a part of a global community that celebrates the people, ideas and movements that are changing the world for the better and helps others do the same. It’s when times are hardest that it’s most important that we shine a light on good news. Not cheesy stuff. Hope — real hope — no matter how messy it may be. There’s a lot of good in the world that needs to be celebrated. And we need to be a part of it.
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H E L LO H E L LO !
The Year of Celebrating Good News
WHO MAKES THE G O O D N E W S PA P E R ? Publisher Branden Harvey - @brandenharvey Senior Art Director Judson Collier - @judsoncollier Senior Editor Tyler Huckabee - @tylerhuckabee Lead Strategist Katie Lentile - @katielentile Creative Strategist Sammi Harvey - @sammiharveyco Podcast Producer Chad Michael Snavely - @chad_michael Videographer Jeremiah Warren - @jeremiahjw Web Design Jordan Short / Luum - @jordandshort Digital Copywriter Cadence Turpin - @cadenceet
“I went into television because I hated it so,” Fred Rog-
some of the very real and very sad events going on around the
ers once told CNN. “And I thought there was some way
world isn’t healthy. But then again, burying your head in exclu-
of using this fabulous instrument to be of nurture to
sively negative news isn’t good either.
those who would watch and listen.”
The truth is, there’s a lot of good news out there. Not just
That’s what led the man who would come to be
stories of Chris Pratt making balloon animals or dogs learning
known around the world as Mister Rogers to start
to juggle but real good news that’s happening at a foundational
a small children’s show on public TV — a humble,
level, improving people’s lives and making tomorrow a better
puppet-filled land of make believe with a current of
place. Diseases are being cured. Crime is going down. Injustice
profound emotional intelligence. And as modest as the
is being eradicated. These are big, important things. They need
show was, the shadow it cast is huge, and represents
to be celebrated. They need to be understood. And maybe most
not just some of the best television of all time, but rep-
importantly, they need to be replicated.
resents some of the best of humanity.
Fred Rogers got into TV “to nurture to those who watch and
I don’t hate the news. Actually, I’m really grateful
listen” and that’s why the Goodnewspaper is here too. I want
for the women and men in the news industry who work
this to be a resource: a way to encourage us, sure, but also to
hard at providing the rest of us with important stories
inspire us to go make more good news of our own. Who knows?
about what’s happening in our cities, our country and
Maybe something you do will end up in a future issue.
the world around us. But it’s hard to not get discouraged by the things that are in the news. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. It’s important that we read and understand those stories. Burying your head in the sand and ignoring
That’s why the Goodnewspaper exists: to highlight the good things going on in the world, and to help people make more of it.
-BRANDEN HARVEY @BRANDENHARVEY
SPREAD GOOD NEWS Share a good news story, post an inspiring quote, or just brag about getting the first copy of the Goodnewspaper. Tag your photos of the Goodnewspaper with #goodnewspaper and @goodgoodgoodco.
Centerfold Poster Featured Artist Judson Collier - @judsoncollier Social and Communications Manager Kristi Karrenbrock ••••••••••••••••• Learn more about the Goodnewspaper and update your subscription at goodgoodgood.co Keep up with more good news by following us anywhere at @goodgoodgoodco Get in touch about feedback, questions, and advertising inquiries at hello@goodgoodgood.co
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W E ’ V E G OT G O O D N E W S
A Palestinian Teen and an Israeli Teen Were Each People With HIV Are Living a Whole Decade Longer Saved, Thanks to Donations From Each Other’s Family A survey of more than 88,000 people in 18 different countries Historically, there’s a lot of conflict between Israelis and
confirms an upward trend we’d love to see continue: people
Palestinians. The long and complicated tension between
with HIV today can expect to live ten full years longer than
the two groups stretches back over centuries, and although
they did in the mid 1990s. In fact, a 28-year-old with HIV to-
there have been plenty of attempts at peace, it never quite
day can expect to live to be about 78 years old, which is nearly
seems to work out.
as old as people without HIV.
That didn’t stop two families from pitching in to help each
Researchers credit exciting new developments in medi-
other when they needed it. According to the Jerusalem Post,
cine and anti-HIV drugs for the longer life spans and say that
the mother of a 19-year-old Israeli Arab donated one of her
the really good news is that this means science is on the right
kidneys to a 16-year-old Palestinian boy who needed it. That
path for eradicating the disease altogether.
16-year-old’s brother donated his kidney to the 19-year-old. It was complicated because the donors weren’t compatible with their own relatives who needed the organ transplants, but they were compatible with each other. So they put aside their historic differences and pitched in to save each other’s lives.
This Guy Turned His $4m Apartment Complex Into a A Toronto Restaurant Rescues Food and Gives Free Home for Homeless Moms It Away for Free Rick Steves is a travel writer who picked up a passion for af-
The Soup Bar is a Toronto restaurant that makes soups
fordable housing while backpacking through Europe, where
from scratch, using fine ingredients from well-respected
a place to stay wasn’t always a guarantee. He’s since had a lot
bakeries and grocers. Just one catch: the bakeries and gro-
of success as an author, and even bought an apartment com-
cers actually threw these ingredients away. Chef Jagger
plex called Trinity Place in Seattle. His original plan was to let
Gordon receives food donations from the restaurants and
the place appreciate over time, but in 2017, he decided it was
stores of Toronto, rescuing a lot of the perfectly good food
time to push back against what he calls a rising “greed-is-good”
that gets thrown out at the end of the day so he can use it to
ethic. According to the Puget Sound Business Journal, he do-
make soup. And even better, he then uses a “pay-what-you-
nated the entire complex to the YWCA to be used as housing
can” method, even if you can’t pay anything at all.
for homeless women and their families. “Having reliable hous-
“I get a lot of students,” he told CBC News. “I get a lot of
ing options like Trinity Place is not only crucial,” said YWCA
families. I get a lot of single moms.” These are people who
executive director Mary Anne Dillon in a press release. “It’s a
have a hard time affording quality, healthy meals, or may
matter of life and death for families in our community.”
just lack the time to cook one. Gordon fixes it for them, us-
The Suicide Rate Among American High Schoolers Is Falling
ing his creativity and a firm determination that we can all be more responsible with how we treat our food.
Suicide is a real problem in the United States, with suicide
Since 1990, Child Deaths Have Dropped by Half
among teenagers being particularly high in the US compared
According to a new report, the world as a whole is getting
to other countries. Over the past few years, the trend has held
much better at keeping babies alive longer. In nearly eve-
steadily or even increased, but lately, it’s taken a slight dip. In
ry country over the past 25 years, the child mortality rate
fact, it’s fallen 7% since 2015. It was even more notable among
has plummeted. Globally, the number of child deaths has
LGBT students, who saw a 14% drop in suicide attempts.
dropped from 14.2 million to 7.3 million. That’s still far too
Julia Raifman of Johns Hopkins University says that the drop may well have something to do with the US Supreme
“This is the most peaceful time in human history. That matters because if you think the world is getting better, you want to spread the progress to more people and places.”
many, but the number is trending in the right direction, ac-
— Bill Gates
cording to a study in JAMA Pediatrics.
Court’s legalization of same-sex marriage. She and her team
Experts attribute the improvements to more clean wa-
believe that the decision helped reduce a stigma felt by many
ter and sanitation in developing nations, and the spread
teenagers in the LGBT community, where suicide rates are
of vaccinations. Surprisingly, the spread of education for
often higher. “I would hope that policymakers and the public
women (which you can read about on page 12) is also a con-
would consider the potential health implications of laws and
tributing factor, since there’s a correlation between edu-
policies affecting LGBT rights,” Raifman told the Guardian.
cated mothers and their children’s lifespan.
HOW TO SUPPORT THOSE DEALING WITH MENTAL HEALTH
What’s this? This is the Good Bar! We believe in celebrating good, and then joining in and making a difference ourselves. The Good Bar is full of recommendations from the Good Good Good community on how to take action in meaningful ways.
GO OD
BET TER
BEST
Read ‘Reasons to Stay Alive’ by Matt Haig. It’s a powerful book about mental health and reading it will help unlock the power of empathy.
Affordability is the greatest barrier to people getting help through counseling. Donate directly to facilities or organizations. We’ve made a list at goodnewspaper.org/1
Apply to be a Crisis Text Line counselor or volunteer at a suicide hotline. They’ll train you and don’t require prior counseling experience, just a willingness to help.
4
W E ’ V E G OT G O O D N E W S
Sweden Will Cut Emissions by 2045
All
Greenhouse
Gas
Sweden has rolled out one of the most ambitious environmental plans from a developed nation, announcing a plan to make increasingly drastic cuts to their fossil fuel emissions a little bit every four years until 2045, when they plan to be at zero. A lot of countries have made pledges to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions but, unfortunately, most of them are off target when it comes to actually putting their money where their mouths are. Sweden is setting a great example for the rest of the world, putting out real, tangible laws that will help reduce their fossil fuel emissions. “Our target is to be an entirely fossil-fuel-free welfare state,” Climate Minister Isabella Lovin told The Independent.
China Will Outlaw Its Ivory Trade by the End of 2017 Kenya Is Getting Electric Power to Its Citizens at a Elephants are in bad shape. There are only about 415,000 of them Breathtaking Rate left in the wild, and that number is dropping lower all the time
It took over thirty years for the United States to connect all its ru-
because of things like deforestation and poachers. But one of the
ral farms to electric power — a huge achievement that took tons of
biggest threats to elephants has been the ivory trade. Ivory is big
hard work and resulted in a nearly uncountable amount of extra
business in China, where nearly 70 percent of all ivory ends up.
productivity. Kenya is trying to do the same thing today and here’s
Or, it did. China will begin slowly phasing out its
Health Science Funding Got a 2 Billion Dollar Increase
ivory trade throughout the year before banning it com-
In one year, Kenya managed to add 1.3 million households
pletely at the end of 2017. The people of China are big
to its electric grid, meaning 55 percent of all Kenyans now have
fans of this switch. In 2012, less than half of the Chinese
electric power. That’s a 28 percent jump from just a few years
population opposed the ivory trade. Today, that num-
ago in 2013, leading to big developments in education and agri-
ber has climbed to over 71 percent, according to wildlife
culture for Kenyan citizens.
It’s no secret that we’re living in a rough time for science,
group Save the Elephants. So that’s good news for China,
with budget woes slashing funding left and right. That’s
bad news for poachers, and great news for the elephants.
why it was such a pleasant surprise for the United States’
what’s amazing: they’re on track to do it in just seven years.
Malawi’s AIDS Rate Is Dropping at a Record Rate The AIDS crisis has lost a bit of its initial urgency, but it still
budget for the National Institute of Health to get a giant,
The World’s First Malaria Vaccine Is Currently Being Tested
two billion dollar bump in 2017.
Malaria infects about 200 million people every year, and kills
in Africa. Malawi, in particular, faces an uphill climb when
NIH’s budget was largely expected to see big cuts, giv-
almost half a million — most of them African children. It re-
it comes to combatting the AIDS epidemic, with at least one
en the recent push to rein in government spending. But
mains one of the biggest global challenges for healthcare pro-
person in every ten carrying HIV. But it’s not all bad news,
lawmakers worked together and managed instead to give
viders, but they’re on the verge of a breakthrough.
particularly in Malawi. In fact, the country is finding in-
NIH a six percent increase, which means it’ll have a total budget of $34 billion.
The world’s first malaria vaccine is being tested in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi — largely because those coun-
remains a deadly problem all over the world, most seriously
novative ways to fight back against AIDS, and the results speak for themselves.
That means way more money will go toward finding
tries have experienced significant upticks in their ma-
The country focused heavily on education, empowering
cures for diseases like Alzheimer’s and cancer, and fund-
laria rates, despite plentiful access to nets and other
people to be aware of the impact of the decisions they make.
ing hospitals that work in underprivileged communities.
methods used to keep malaria-spreading mosquitos at
The country also focused on increasing access to life-saving
Buzzfeed News quotes George Washington University sci-
bay. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent
HIV/AIDS medicine. According to experts, Malawi’s treat-
ence policy expert Al Teich, who says “Biomedical research
on the vaccines, and early clinical are promising. If ef-
ment program has saved some 260,000 lives in the last ten
is definitely a favorite cause in Congress. It has a history of
fective, these vaccines could save hundreds of thou-
years and reduced the number of children acquiring HIV by
bipartisan support. No one wants to vote against such caus-
sands of lives and help fulfill the World Health Organi-
an astonishing 67 percent. That’s the most significant pro-
es as research on cancer, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s.”
zation’s goal of ridding the world of malaria by 2040.
gress made by a Sub-Saharan African country.
HOW TO BE A PART OF THE SOLUTION TO THE GLOBAL REFUGEE CRISIS GO OD
BET TER
BEST
Follow @refugees on Twitter and UNHCR on Facebook, and share some of the inspiring stories they’ve posted. Help break down the stigma associated with refugees.
Donate to one of the incredible organizations supporting families fleeing war and conflict around the world. We have a list to help you get started at goodnewspaper.org/1
Volunteer with a local refugee organization to support refugee families in your community. Find great organizations to support at goodnewspaper.org/1
5
DEVIN ALLEN
Photo by Fj Hughes
DON’T CALL DEVIN ALLEN AN ACTIVIST
In 2015, Devin Allen made history by being one of the few amateur photographers to make the cover of TIME Magazine. Now, he’s trying to change the future for others.
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DEVIN ALLEN
affecting, and it gets at the sort of
city is the heroine capital of the
things Allen wants to convey with
United States. My city’s not that
his work.
big, but there’s 300 murders a
“When it first started every-
year. A lot of schools get shut
one was calling me an activist or
down and they jam two or three
a journalist,” Allen says. “It feels
schools into one school. There’s
good to have people believe in
a lot of charter schools. There’s
you! Activist is a big name and at
been funding cut. Growing up
first I was like, ‘Am I an activist?’
here is tough.”
I don’t know. I consider myself a
And that’s something Allen
dialogue creator. I’m good at cre-
feels got ignored in the media nar-
ating conversations. My images
rative surrounding what happened
are meant to create a conversa-
in Baltimore. People weighed in
tion. My job isn’t to take a picture
on what was happening in his city
and tell you what’s going on in the
who didn’t understand his city.
picture. I let you look at the picture
That’s why he started document-
and you come to your own con-
ing the protests — in attempt to
clusion based on the energy that’s
tell the real story before it got co-
transferred from you viewing my
opted by people who didn’t have a
work. My heart goes into my work.
real understanding of it.
I don’t want to say, ‘Look, this guy’s
“It’s rare that we have the platform to tell our own stories without them being filtered.”
When
Time
Magazine
destroying a police car and that’s
reached out to Allen, he thought
evil.’ I want to create awkward mo-
it was too good to be true. They
ments.”
informed him they might even
Photography by Devin Allen
Allen got into photography by
make one of his photos the cover,
necessity. He and a friend hosted
but warned him against getting
If you’ve seen the shot, you remem-
for Palestine. But this hit home with
a regular “poetry night”, and invit-
his hopes up, so he didn’t. He
ber it. If you haven’t, it’s almost im-
a lot of people, because, you know
ed people from their community
didn’t know they’d selected his
possible to fully describe. A black
I’m Freddie Gray. I could have easily
to show up. (It cost guys ten dol-
shot for the cover until he saw it
man in Baltimore, running from
been Freddy Gray. I’ve had my run-
lars to get in. It cost girls five dol-
on social media.
what looks like an army of police
ins with the police. So just watch-
lars.) The events were a success,
“I remember getting on Twit-
officers. They’re after him, row af-
ing it, and watching the youth react,
and Allen wanted to document
ter and seeing all these notifica-
ter row of them, decked out in riot
they inspired me to come out every
them, so he started taking pic-
tions,” he recounts. “And I scrolled
gear. Their masks give them an
day and take pictures.”
tures with an old camera. He took
to the bottom and it said ‘Amateur
inhuman, almost robotic appear-
The Time cover got all the at-
to it and, eventually, scrounged
photographer lands the cover of
ance — like something from Mad
tention, but the interior of the
together the money to buy a nicer
Time Magazine.’ I just bust out
Max. The black man has a mask
magazine shows even more of Al-
camera and started getting more
crying. I called my mother and she
too, a bandana cinched around his
len’s unique eye. There’s a natural-
ambitious with his art.
just dropped the phone. My whole
face. He’s got a white ball cap, and
ism to the shots. If all you know
Allen speaks in measured
family was crying. I’m the first
a pair of slim trousers. His gait ap-
about the Baltimore protests is
tones, pushing the conversation to
black photographer to do some of
pears urgent but not strained. Not
what you saw on television, with
deeper, more interesting realms.
the things I’ve done.”
the run of retreat, but of regroup
overturned police cars and broken
He did not personally know Fred-
Allen’s deeply interested in the
— putting a little distance between
storefront windows, you’d hardly
die Gray, but they shared mutual
authenticity of his work and has
him and the police. The image is in
know these pictures were taken in
friends. He’s a spiritual person, he
to resist the temptation to edit the
black and white, and so is the gen-
the same environment. Protestors
says, and talks a lot about how his
perspective for the sake of pushing
eral sense of the shot. A black man
are captured in all the broad spec-
artwork creates energy between it
a certain narrative.
and whiteness. The shot was taken
trum of humanity. There’s a wom-
and the viewer. He rarely says the
“There are instances where I
in 2015, during the Baltimore pro-
an weeping silently, her mascara
word “Baltimore” instead prefer-
can become selfish and only think
tests spurred by the killing of the
streaming down her face. A young
ring to call it “my city.”
about my community while tak-
unarmed and innocent Freddie
man holds a baby, his look one of
“My city is different,” he ex-
ing these pictures,” he says. “That
Gray by police officers who were
muted exasperation. A man and a
plains. “It’s a very real and au-
was the most difficult thing for
subsequently acquitted of any
woman stare into the camera with
thentic city. There are two dif-
me. How can I tell this story in its
wrongdoing. The shot was taken
calm defiance while young chil-
ferent sides to my city. Everyone
raw form and not try to hide cer-
by Devin Allen.
dren around them raise their fists
knows all the pretty sights on the
tain things, even if it’s negative?
“It felt like I was in a movie,”
towards the sky, grinning. Perched
water but there’s a totally differ-
Or even if there are certain things
Allen says. “This wasn’t the first
on the man’s shoulders is a child
ent side to my city that people
that are positive but I don’t neces-
time I’d [photographed] a protest; I
— scarcely old enough to walk —
don’t know anything about. A
sarily agree with. I had to clear my
marched for Mike Brown, I marched
flashing a peace sign. It’s all deeply
lot of people don’t know that my
mind and just be a vessel for the