CRJ founder launches Beyond The Headlines TV show

By Lawrence Seiler

Constructive Restorative Journalism founder Mutiu Olawuyi has launched Beyond the Headlines, a new television show designed to expand public-interest journalism beyond breaking news, conflict reporting and surface-level commentary.

Olawuyi, who is also the President of the International Association of Constructive Journalists, said the program will focus on stories that inform the public while also helping communities understand problems, identify solutions and rebuild trust.

“Beyond The Headlines is not just another news show. It is a platform for deeper public conversation, responsible storytelling and community healing,” Olawuyi said. “Our goal is to report truth with context, compassion and accountability.”

The show is anchored on the principles of Constructive Restorative Journalism, a journalism model developed by Olawuyi to combine truth-telling, solution-seeking, civic responsibility and social repair. The approach encourages journalists to investigate problems without sensationalism, amplify affected voices without exploitation, and highlight pathways toward justice, dignity and peace.

According to Olawuyi, modern journalism must do more than expose what is broken.
“People already know that many systems are failing them,” he said. “What they also need is journalism that helps them understand why those systems are failing, who is affected, who is responsible, and what can be done to restore hope, fairness and public trust.”

Beyond the Headlines will examine issues affecting New York, African diaspora communities, Africa and the wider global public. The show is expected to feature interviews with community leaders, policy experts, educators, advocates, public officials, faith leaders, journalists and ordinary people whose lived experiences often remain outside mainstream media narratives.

Olawuyi said the program will give special attention to underserved communities, peacebuilding, education, public safety, health equity, interfaith dialogue, immigration, disability rights, youth development and civic participation.
“This show is for people whose stories are often reduced to statistics, stereotypes or silence,” Olawuyi said. “We want to create a media space where communities are not only reported on, but listened to, respected and empowered.”

As president of IACJ, Olawuyi has been promoting constructive journalism as a modern media practice for both the Global North and Global South. He said the launch of Beyond the Headlines is part of a broader effort to make journalism more useful to democracy and more responsive to human suffering.

The show’s guiding tagline, “Journalism that informs, heals, and transforms,” reflects its editorial mission.

Media observers have increasingly raised concerns about public distrust of news, polarization, misinformation and the emotional fatigue caused by constant crisis coverage. Olawuyi said Beyond the Headlines aims to respond to that crisis by offering journalism that is rigorous without being destructive and compassionate without losing its commitment to facts.

“We are not replacing hard truth with soft journalism,” he said. “We are insisting that truth must be reported in a way that helps society repair itself.”

The launch positions Beyond the Headlines as both a media program and a civic intervention. For New York’s diverse communities, the show offers a new platform for dialogue, accountability and shared problem-solving at a time when many residents are seeking journalism that goes deeper than daily outrage.

Olawuyi said the program will remain committed to ethical reporting, inclusive voices and public education.

“The future of journalism must be human-centered,” he said. “If journalism cannot help people see one another more clearly, understand one another more deeply and work together more responsibly, then it is not doing enough.”

Olawuyi also serves as CEO and Chief Editor of New York Parrot, Senegambia Times, Bronx Post, Muslim Parrot, Parkchester Times and Africa Parrot. He also manages Parrot TV, an online audiovisual media platform owned by Parrot Media Corporation in New York.