Video: How to have constructive conversations in spite of politics – Joanna Norris TEDx

Joanna Norris spent years as a journalist, watching society become ever more polarised. And it’s easy to point fingers: to blame others for being ignorant, to blame Facebook for showing us only content that reinforces our prejudices. But she argues that if we really want a more constructive, compassionate flavour of civic discourse, we have to start with ourselves.

Joanna Norris is chief executive of Christchurch, and until September 2017, she was South Island editor-in-chief for Fairfax Media and editor of The Press where she led a team of 180 journalists. Joanna has worked as a journalist on daily newspapers in New Zealand, Britain and the Middle East. She has won several journalism and leadership awards, including media awards for reporting and feature writing. She was also chair of the New Zealand Media Freedom Committee and was last year awarded the Fairfax Media Women of Influence Award as Change and Innovation Champion. Joanna Norris is chief executive of Christchurch, and until last month, she was South Island editor-in-chief for Fairfax Media and editor of The Press where she led a team of 180 journalists. Joanna has worked as a journalist on daily newspapers in New Zealand, Britain and the Middle East.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.