It seems like public attention has diminished considerably regarding the majority of news stories, especially stories regarding COVID-19. That is not to say that people are unaware, rather, people are uninterested. If you only see one thing and only talk about one thing every single day you will eventually and usually sooner rather than later grow uninterested in the topic.
Currently, it is not possible to tune into a news station or read a page of a newspaper without seeing something about the coronavirus and the hundreds of thousands of people that are dying. Of course, every one of the virus-related deaths is extremely tragic, and it is important to be aware of the situation to limit the number of coronavirus victims. However, it would be nice to see something new (and less depressing) on the news circuit occasionally.

John Krasinski, a well known actor and director, started Some Good News on YouTube with the intention to spread positive messages to the world during this time of negative news. Krasinski doesn’t try to take sides on issues, he doesn’t even try to pretend like he knows what he is doing, he just creates a 15-minute segment his watchers to see something new and interesting, and most importantly, positive.

The fact that he had his daughters make his SGN sign and he is sitting alone in a room talking to a camera also increases the feeling of a relationship between him and his viewers that he is now able to achieve through a personalized YouTube channel rather than a big name production company. When Krasinski talks to his viewers about something that he personally picked out and truly wants to share with the world it no longer feels like a news channel and it doesn’t feel like a big celebrity talking to a camera, it feels like your friend wanted to tell you a story that they heard and made them happy. John Krasinski is not the first mainstream celebrity to use nontraditional media platforms, but he used the current social climate as well as his ability to make people feel comfortable talking to him to become a mainstream celebrity that uses nontraditional media platforms to create content that is purely based on spreading positivity and making people’s lives better.

The thing that helps people get through times like this, through all of the bad news and disappointment, is maintaining your health. Your physical health is obviously important to surviving a global pandemic but your mental health is equally as important and it is becoming exceedingly necessary to maintain your mental health in order to get through each day of quarantine and come out of this pandemic with an optimistic view of the world. John Krasinski doesn’t say it explicitly but it is clear that he is trying to do exactly that. He is making it easier for people to wake up in the morning and see a positive light in their day through all of the darkness in the world right now.

Rating:★★★★★