To counter coronavirus news fatigue, Polish outlet Outride.rs launches a new smart speaker skill that brings listeners solutions journalism stories
Solutions journalism is having its moment. With audiences increasingly turning away from negative news about the pandemic, more media outlets have started to adopt this method that allows them to report on what works.
This type of journalism is expanding beyond western countries. In Poland, young media organisation Outride.rs partnered with Google to launch a new smart speaker feature that brings news-hungry audiences informative stories that also make them feel empowered.
Although news consumption data is scarce, Outride.rs co-founder Jakub Gornicky said news fatigue caused by the endless stream of negative coronavirus news is widespread in the country.
To counter that, Google Assistant users now simply need to say "Hey Google, tell me something good" (in Polish) and the smart speaker will play a 60 or 90-second solutions journalism story. The listeners can then follow up with a more in-depth reading about the issue.
For an added human touch, the audio stories are narrated by Belorussian journalist Hanna Liubakova or Gornicki himself, but not by a robot.
Although the Google Assistant skill has only launched a few weeks ago, Gornicki said the Outride.rs team has been overwhelmed by the positive feedback, both from their loyal community and from new listeners. Although they did not plan to launch this new project during the pandemic, many have found it useful to deal with these challenging times.
"Our primary goal is to promote solutions journalism," says Gornicki, adding that when audiences discover this approach, they often stick to solutions stories.
For Outride.rs, he continued, it was also important to experiment with new technologies and audio interfaces proved to be an exciting new way of serving their community and offer them an immersive experience.
For those who do not have Google Assistant, the new feature works with the iOS or Android app.
Join Journalism.co.uk at our virtual Newsrewired conference for the latest expert insights on fostering newsroom innovation during the pandemic. Click here for more information.
If you like our news and feature articles, you can sign up to receive our free daily (Mon-Fri) email newsletter (mobile friendly).
Sign up to receive job alerts of your choice by email, or manage your subscription
Featured recruiter: click to view its vacancies
Investigative journalism publication seeks editor to lead reporting on AI, Big Tech and influence operations with experience in these areas and creative ideas about how to to report on them
Subscribe to our newsletter for latest news, tips, jobs and more
End that deadline stress today and find help in our freelance directory
Cargo Force stuns the world: free 10kg shipping to India in celebration of ICC Trophy victory – offer ongoing until Sunday, 16 March!
Our 35th Newsrewired conference will be held 13 May 2025, News UK, London.
Reporters who have worked under Putin, Erdogan and the Taliban share what they have learned about how autocrats consolidate power and how communities can fight back against the erosion of democratic freedom
Leaders from The Times, Sky News and Reuters reveal why chasing fewer but more engaged readers - and embracing AI as a creative tool rather than a threat - is proving more profitable than old-school mass reach strategies
A TikTok master with 100m views, a paywall pioneer with 3,000 subscribers, and a community visionary backed by local businesses share their strategies for making independent journalism pay beyond ads
Slovakia's Dennik N broke three years of subscriber stagnation with an innovative anniversary campaign, while The New Statesman transformed podcasts from a side project into a powerful growth engine – both offering valuable lessons for media companies hitting plateaus