Is journalism inherently pessimistic? Why is there so much ’bad news’?

I've come to Norham Gardens, down a side street off of Banbury Road to the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism  to meet  Rasmus Kleis Nielsen , the new Director of Research at the Institute. I want to pick up with him where I left off on the last article - if things are in fact getting better for us as time goes on, why is the message in the news so different? I want to know more about the mechanics of bad news, and I'm hoping Dr Nielsen can provide me with some answers. I've come to Norham Gardens, down a side street off of Banbury Road to the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. The Institute is based in a Victorian villa and still bears many of the hallmarks of a stately home: dimmed lights, large carpeted spiral staircases, bronze busts on the mantlepieces and sizeable bookshelves on the stairs. I'm meeting Rasmus Kleis Nielsen , the new Director of Research at the Institute. I want to pick up with him where I left off on the last article - if things are in fact getting better for us as time goes on, why is the message in the news so different? I want to know more about the mechanics of bad news, and I'm hoping Dr Nielsen can provide me with some answers:   "I think we have to start with journalism to understand news. News is what journalists make.