Information germ theory

"You walk into the doctor with a cold. They prescribe an X-ray. You walk in with a headache. X-ray. Need glasses? X-ray. Depressed? X-ray. Imagine every time you went to the doctor, no matter what was wrong, you got the same treatment - and most times, it did nothing. Or worse, it caused more harm. Two hundred years ago in the U.S., that was about the case. Come in with anything from a headache to chest pain, you'd be walking away with the same treatment."

"What changed? The medical field developed evidence-based consensus around the cause of diseases and the effects of treatments. They accepted that different diseases had different causes and required different interventions at targets that may not be obvious. Called "germ theory," early adopters of this evidence-based theory of change made doctors wash their hands, encouraged boiling unclean water, and introduced antiseptics to guard wounds against infection."

"What is journalism's germ theory? Our evidence-based, industry-wide understanding of the conditions that create information needs and the interventions that solve them? Right now, many newsrooms still reach for the same treatments no matter the issue. Immigrants need to know their rights? Story. Tenants can't get their landlords to make repairs? Story. Town council meeting? Story. People need to know about food pantries? Story. Sometimes stories do something. But, most of the time, they don't."

Medical practice two centuries ago applied the same treatments to many conditions, often causing harm, until evidence-based germ theory established disease-specific causes and targeted interventions like handwashing, boiling water, and antiseptics. Many newsrooms still apply one format—narrative stories—to diverse community problems, producing limited impact. Journalism should develop an evidence-based theory of change that identifies information needs and matches them to tailored interventions. The Jersey Bee plans to expand beyond articles to newsletters, directories, guides, zines, texts, resource fairs, comedy shows, and media training, building networked, layered information systems to serve community needs in 2026 and beyond.

Read at Nieman Lab