Might mainstream news reporting contribute to the ‘values perception gap’ and why might it matter?
In the UK we have almost become accustomed to seeing headlines in (mostly) right wing and conservative media about refugees and people seeking asylum that have famously included ‘The Swarm in Our Streets’ and more recently focussed on government plans to ‘stop the boats’. But do these messages, and the values that underpin them, truly […]
Save the human animal earthlings
Many years ago Amnesty International ran a marketing campaign with the strapline “Save the Human”. When I first noticed it on the tube, I saw it as an attempt to encourage people who donate to conservation charities to pause and reassess their priorities. Before donating to help save the tiger, or the bees, the slogan […]
To unpathed waters, undreamed shores*
Over the past few years there has been rising interest in the transformative power of social (sometimes referred to as collective or public) imagination and the idea that we urgently need to invest in imaginative practice if we are to see real and ambitious solutions to global problems like climate destruction. Thinkers, like Geoff Mulgan, […]
What we’ve valued this year
We hope that our email finds you well and warm, or that it doesn’t find you at all, as you are far away from your device resting and restoring. As we come to the end of the Gregorian year we’d like to share with you our favourite cultural experiences of the year which embody the values […]
Will the RSPB stand with striking workers?
The RSPB’s charitable purpose, as enshrined in its Royal Charter, is to conserve wild birds and other wildlife. This objective can be interpreted very unambitiously. It could be taken as a mandate to help by marginally slowing the collapse of UK biodiversity. Nature conservation, when construed narrowly, untainted by association with other fraught political issues, […]
Parenting from a place of values
They say to write about what you know, but instead I’m writing about what I’m spending much of my time thinking about these days; parenting, and specifically, values-led parenting. Last week I heard someone say, for the hundredth time: “good boy” and clap one of my children for eating vegetables/climbing the stairs/not throwing their food […]
Instead of relying on old narratives, it’s time to build power for new ones
Organisations that want to tackle the climate crisis have a duty to ensure that the deeper narratives that their work reinforces, and the values that underpin them, are in service to the world they want to see. Nudge theory – the beloved strategy of neo-liberal governments, businesses and many NGOs alike – argues that many […]
Research shows that research isn’t good at changing people’s minds.
To paraphrase George Lakoff, if the facts do not fit your values, the values stay and the facts bounce off. (Okay, so Lakoff was writing about what he calls “deep frames”, rather than values, but the relationship between values and deep frames seems close). When confronted with inconvenient information, it’s much easier – it requires […]
We’re looking to hire a Values in the Media Project Manager
Common Cause is looking for someone with experience of working within or alongside the UK media sector to lead the development of an exciting new project exploring the impact of the media on cultural values.
Common Cause June newsletter: We’re looking for a new team member
Common Cause newsletter, sent 30/06/22 Common Cause June Newsletter Dear friends, We hope that you are all well and thriving, despite all that’s going on in the world. Apologies for the delay in getting this over to you this month — two thirds of the team were struck with Covid and so things have been […]