In this wide-ranging discussion, Corey deVos talks to Stefan Schultz, a journalist at Der Spiegel magazine, about his model for integral journalism that he has been developing over the past few years. This model, staggering in both its depth
and its breadth, examines journalism and media literacy through a developmental lens, looking at how the infosphere shapes society and how journalism can positively influence this process. Stefan outlines the four key problem areas he sees in journalism today: frustration among reporters, dissatisfaction in audiences due to lack of perspectives/empathy/positivity in coverage, challenges for media companies in retaining subscribers, and polarization in society. To address these systemic issues, Stefan convened an interdisciplinary team to examine the problem from all angles and prototype solutions. He views journalism as one part of a larger ecosystem that also includes both the infosphere and society, where every developmental stage, from Amber
to Teal
, has beneficial and detrimental impacts on this ecosystem. The goal is to amplify the positive contributions of each stage while minimizing the negatives — for example, having journalists at different stages
collaborate: Amber focuses on group cohesion, Orange
on investigation, Green
on empathy, Teal on synthesis, etc. Ultimately, integral journalism aims to facilitate development by exposing people to more complex information, healthier discourse, and inspiration for transformation
. While the infosphere has become decentralized and overwhelming, journalists can still act as “beacons” to promote greater wisdom and maturity in public dialogue. The integral model
provides a roadmap for how journalism can evolve to better meet the needs of a complex world. (00:00:00) Introduction and Catching Up
(00:03:48) The Four Key Problem Areas in Journalism
(00:11:18) The U-Lab Process: Rational and Intuitive Approaches
(00:24:33) The Metasystemic Map: Journalism’s Ecological Hierarchy
(00:29:07) The Evolution of the Infosphere
(00:29:07) The Evolutionary Stages of Journalism and
(00:35:06) The Shrinking Influence of Journalism
(00:42:05) Reinventing Journalism in the Social Media Age
(00:47:52) The Big Map: Journalism, Infosphere, and Society
(00:50:42) The Umber Stage: Bridging Amber and Orange
(01:02:58) Beneficial and Detrimental Contributions of Each Stage
(01:06:41) The Good, Bad, and Ugly of Green
(01:14:10) Zones of Perspective and Cross-Level Communication
(01:26:08) The Role of Journalism in the Infosphere
(01:39:55) Glue and Solvent: What Holds Society Together
(01:49:17) Conclusion and Future Directions