Sisters create positive newscast to lift spirits during lockdown

The siblings from Pennsylvania upload good news broadcasts twice a week to help brighten the spirits of not just fellow Americans, but people across the globe.

Kaitlyn and Molly Harrington, aged 15 and 11 respectively, from Montgomery, Pennsylvania, have created a Facebook page where they share only good news.

Their creation, Good News Now, shares positive news stories daily and has good news-filled broadcasts hosted by the sisters uploaded on Tuesdays and Fridays to help people “get ready for the week and start the weekend on a positive note”.

The pair first started to share good news stories at the end of March, but since then their videos have amassed thousands of views.

Molly, 11, told Oh My Goodness: “We just really wanted to lift people’s spirits because we saw so much negative news. The good news stories really weren’t getting the attention they deserved.

“I would tell my friends about good news stories I saw and they hadn’t heard about them, so it seemed like a good idea to help spread them around to people.”

With the help of their father, Mark, they converted a pool table in their basement into a studio with computers and created slides, enlarging them on a projector to create a realistic newsroom feel.

The sisters then started recording everything on their phone and editing it all through an app which they then uploaded to the Facebook page.

While the sisters knew that positive news was something that people wanted more of, they could never have imagined that their videos would become so popular so quickly.

“We originally thought it would be a one-time thing, where our friends and family saw it [but] the reaction was so positive and people really encouraged us to keep it up, so we have. It’s great seeing the response from people all over,” Kaitlyn told Oh My Goodness.

“We just wanted to do something positive for our community, but it really started to spread and then started reaching people across the nation and even to other continents now, which is amazing. It’s not really hard to find good news, it’s all around us.”

With followers from all over the United States and around the world, the pair now try to provide a variety of good news on local stories, national stories, international stories and on different topics like medical advancements, nature news, people helping others and companies doing good.

Recently, the pair were left completely “shocked” when Fox News got in touch to feature them on a ‘special heroes’ segment.

“They did a special heroes segment on us, but we don’t think we are heroes, we report on the heroes who are doing good for others,” Molly added.

Some of their favourite features have included a local bakery delivering treats to nurses and the recent increase in bald eagle numbers.

Their father, Mark, said it was great to see his two daughters “take action” because spending time in isolation is a “challenging time” for kids.

He told Oh My Goodness: “It’s special when you learn from your kids. They thought there should be more of a spotlight on the good around us, so I asked how do they fix it? It was great to see them take action.

“Schools are closed and being conducted online and all sports and activities are suspended, which is challenging for the kids. However, doing this I think gives them a purpose and an excuse to have fun together in the process.”

With isolation currently meaning schools are shut, the sisters do not plan on stopping when lockdown eases and they have to return to school.

“We plan to keep doing it twice per week. It’s fun and we really like that it makes people happy and helps take their mind off the negative things happening,” Molly added.

You can check out their lovely uplifting Facebook page here.

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