Who We Are Solutions Journalism Network

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Nov 18, 2025, 5:27 AM

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. We call solutions journalism "hope with teeth." Research shows that when news reveals what’s working (or promising), it elevates the tone of public discourse by making it less divisive and more constructive, allows communities... We believe every person deserves healthy, high-quality news. The Solutions Journalism Network is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization committed to advancing journalism that is respectful and helpful. The team at Solutions Journalism Network is an energetic and collaborative bunch, living on four continents. The Solutions Journalism Network receives financial support from foundations and individual donors.

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. Want updates when Solutions Journalism Network has new information, or want to find more organizations like Solutions Journalism Network?

© 2025 Nonprofit Metrics LLCTerms of Service and Privacy Policy 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. 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!) 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.

The Solutions Journalism Network is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization committed to transparency and editorial independence. We receive financial support from numerous foundations and individual donors. Some of the funding we receive from foundations goes to support newsroom projects or fellowships for journalists. We recognize that there are potential conflicts of interest inherent in using philanthropic funding to support journalism, just as there are potential conflicts of interest with advertising or sponsorships. But, as public media organizations have shown for years, there are ways to accept and use philanthropic dollars that maintain journalism’s independence and its highest ethical standards. Toward that end, our projects and fellowships are focused on broadly defined issue areas where there is a wide range of problem-solving approaches for reporters to cover.

For example, newsroom partners have pursued solutions-oriented reporting focused on health, education, democracy, economic mobility, public safety, environmental sustainability, civil rights and COVID-19, among other topics. News organizations and journalists that receive funding from Solutions Journalism Network retain full editorial control over their reporting, including which stories they pursue and how they report and write them. And we encourage them to publicly identify the sources of financial support for their solutions-focused reporting.

Who We Are Solutions Journalism Network

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The Solutions Journalism Network Offers Newsletters For Journalists, Educators And