University of Kwazulu-Natal

Solutions Journalism Network

Bonisiwe Shabane
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solutions journalism network

Solutions journalism is rigorous and compelling reporting about responses to social problems, which includes these key elements: Founded in 2013 by the award-winning journalists David Bornstein, Tina Rosenberg and Courtney Martin, the Solutions Journalism Network includes: The Solutions Story Tracker® is the largest collection of solutions journalism: 17,200 stories produced by 9,700 journalists and 2,140 news outlets from 98 countries. The stories cover responses in 199 countries, in 18 languages. This resource is made possible because of a growing movement of journalists who use solutions journalism to illuminate both problems and evidence-based responses to them. The Solutions Journalism Network offers newsletters for journalists, educators and everyone interested in how people are responding to problems.

Journalists in our global network use solutions journalism to strengthen community efficacy, challenge false and harmful stereotypes, build trust and civic engagement, depolarize public discourse and build new sources of revenue. The Solutions Journalism Network (SJN) is an independent, non-profit organization that advocates an approach of solutions journalism, an evidence-based mode of reporting on the responses to social problems. It was founded in 2013 by David Bornstein, Courtney E. Martin, and Tina Rosenberg. Its staff in New York City and Oakland, California, help journalists and news organizations across the country understand, value, and build the capacity to do solutions-oriented reporting. The mission of SJN is "to spread the practice of solutions journalism: rigorous and compelling reporting about responses to social problems".[1] What SJN calls solutions journalism is preceded by very similar journalistic styles that...

The Solutions Journalism Network grew out of the "Fixes" column in The New York Times Opinionator section written by journalists David Bornstein and Tina Rosenberg since October 2010.[2] Together with Courtney Martin, an author,... SJN's first major project was a collaboration with The Seattle Times to produce a year-long series of solutions-oriented stories about public education called Education Lab. This initiative was extended for a second year.[3] In its first year, SJN also launched a series of funds to provide financial support to journalists pursuing solutions stories on topics concerning climate change resilience,... SJN believes that most news reporting fails to fulfill journalism's mission to hold an accurate mirror up to society. While traditional journalism holds that a reporter's primary role is to expose problems, SJN argues that the press should also examine examples of responses to those problems, with the same degree of rigor. These responses, it holds, are an important part of what is happening in the world, and accurate coverage of society must include them to be able to provide the whole story.

Solutions journalism is rigorous and compelling reporting about responses to social problems, which includes these key elements: Solutions journalism investigates and explains, in a critical and clear-eyed way, how people try to solve widely shared problems. While journalists usually define news as “what’s gone wrong,” solutions journalism tries to expand that definition: Responses to problems are also newsworthy. By adding rigorous coverage of solutions, journalists can tell the whole story. Solutions journalism complements and strengthens coverage of problems. Done well, solutions stories provide valuable insights that help communities with the difficult work of tackling problems like homelessness or climate change, skyrocketing housing prices or low voter turnout.

We also know from research that solutions stories can change the tone of public discourse, making it less divisive and more constructive. By revealing what has worked, such stories have led to meaningful change. We gathered in 2023 to celebrate a decade of solutions journalism, impact, insights, and the people who have made this possible. Solutions Journalism is rigorous reporting about responses to society’s problems. It is complete journalism that not only spotlights the problems but follows an evidence-based presentation of existing solutions. Such reporting enhances knowledge and accountability by providing the whole story to readers and offers constructive content in an age of media apathy.

This innovative journalism approach goes beyond simple issue identification and instead focuses on featuring what is already working. It uses the same rigor of investigative reporting to highlight the mechanisms and success factors as well as the limitations of already-existing solutions to well-known problems. As a result, it activates citizens by functioning as a catalyst for accountability that can lead to meaningful change. A problem that was seen as unavoidable comes to be seen as unacceptable. Solutions Journalism covers a wide variety of topics and its approach ranges from identifying cases of positive deviants to exploring new ideas in action to reporting on experiments in progress. The result is informative, impactful content that strengthens audience engagement re-establishes trust in the media, and increases both readership and revenue.

The Four Qualities of Solutions Journalism 1) A solutions story focuses on a RESPONSE to a social problem — and how that response has worked or why it hasn’t. (“howdunnit”)2) The best solutions reporting distills the lessons that makes the response relevant and accessible to others. In other words, it offers INSIGHT.3) Solutions journalism looks for EVIDENCE — data or qualitative results that show effectiveness (or lack thereof).4) Discusses LIMITATIONS or gaps of the approach (no response is perfect!) Journalists in our global network use solutions journalism to strengthen community efficacy, challenge false and harmful stereotypes, build trust and civic engagement, depolarize public discourse and build new sources of revenue. The Solutions Journalism Network leads a global shift in journalism focused on advancing rigorous reporting about how people are trying to solve problems and what we can learn from their successes and failures.

The network includes: Discover how news organizations around the world transforming journalism — and their communities. There's a growing body of research on how people respond to solutions journalism. This innovative journalism approach goes beyond simple issue identification and instead focuses on featuring what is already working. It uses the same rigor of investigative reporting to highlight the mechanisms and success factors as well as the limitations of already-existing solutions to well-known problems. As a result it activates citizens by functioning as a catalyst for accountability that can lead to meaningful change.

A problem that was seen as unavoidable comes to be seen as unacceptable. Solutions Journalism covers a wide variety of topics and its approach ranges from identifying cases of positive deviants to exploring new ideas in action to reporting on experiments in progress. The result is informative, impactful content that strengthens audience engagement, reestablishes trust in the media, and increases both readership and revenue. Is Solutions Journalism a Solution? (Alex Sabadan, The Fix) – this article is covering the main questions and answers on the new rising trend in journalism Explore the Solutions Journalism Network’s Basic Toolkit – now available in many Central & Eastern European languages (Czech, Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, and Russian)

And … don’t forget to browse the Solutions Journalism Network’s Solutions Story Tracker – a curated database of more than 6,400 solutions stories from all over the world.

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Solutions Journalism Is Rigorous And Compelling Reporting About Responses To

Solutions journalism is rigorous and compelling reporting about responses to social problems, which includes these key elements: Founded in 2013 by the award-winning journalists David Bornstein, Tina Rosenberg and Courtney Martin, the Solutions Journalism Network includes: The Solutions Story Tracker® is the largest collection of solutions journalism: 17,200 stories produced by 9,700 journalists a...

Journalists In Our Global Network Use Solutions Journalism To Strengthen

Journalists in our global network use solutions journalism to strengthen community efficacy, challenge false and harmful stereotypes, build trust and civic engagement, depolarize public discourse and build new sources of revenue. The Solutions Journalism Network (SJN) is an independent, non-profit organization that advocates an approach of solutions journalism, an evidence-based mode of reporting ...

The Solutions Journalism Network Grew Out Of The "Fixes" Column

The Solutions Journalism Network grew out of the "Fixes" column in The New York Times Opinionator section written by journalists David Bornstein and Tina Rosenberg since October 2010.[2] Together with Courtney Martin, an author,... SJN's first major project was a collaboration with The Seattle Times to produce a year-long series of solutions-oriented stories about public education called Education...

Solutions Journalism Is Rigorous And Compelling Reporting About Responses To

Solutions journalism is rigorous and compelling reporting about responses to social problems, which includes these key elements: Solutions journalism investigates and explains, in a critical and clear-eyed way, how people try to solve widely shared problems. While journalists usually define news as “what’s gone wrong,” solutions journalism tries to expand that definition: Responses to problems are...

We Also Know From Research That Solutions Stories Can Change

We also know from research that solutions stories can change the tone of public discourse, making it less divisive and more constructive. By revealing what has worked, such stories have led to meaningful change. We gathered in 2023 to celebrate a decade of solutions journalism, impact, insights, and the people who have made this possible. Solutions Journalism is rigorous reporting about responses ...