Solutions Journalism Network

Last year's Student Media Challenge newsrooms produced a tool for student journalists' mental health, a video game, a resource fair, a massive collaboration, and much more. What will this year's make? Eight new student news outlets have been selected for this year's cohort. They'll spend the year covering youth mental health through a solutions lens with training, funding, and support from SJN. Student media is more important than ever. Sometimes, student outlets are the *only* ones providing trustworthy local news to a region. That so many are embracing solutions reporting means deeper and richer info for those communities. Around youth mental health, this work will point towards promising responses to a seemingly intractable problem. Welcome this year's selected schools/outlets: California State University, Long Beach Philip Merrill College of Journalism - University of Maryland Savannah State University Hilltop Views The Stanford Daily The Temple News The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Baltimore Watchdog Learn more about their plans here: https://lnkd.in/df6nKdT8

We've got some news. Welcome Amy Brady to SJN!

We talk a lot about what solutions reporting brings to people who read/watch/listen to the news. But what about the people who make it? Over and over we hear the same thing: Journalists are just as fried by the industry's overwhelming focus on failure and despair as everyone else is. And when they find solutions journalism, they often say they found the thing they craved but didn't realize had a name and structure. Solutions journalism gives journalists a chance to report deeply on how problems are being addressed without sugarcoating the core issues. It changes relationships. It refreshes beats. It eschews the "feel-good" for the "deeply informative." It helps us and our communities think in new ways. Swipe through to see why solutions journalism trainers Holly K. Johnson, Tan Su Lin, Stefanie Ritoper, Sonal Gupta, and Lara Salahi value it in their work and for the industry. You might see a feeling you're looking for.

If you thought we'd eventually stop helping spread resources for healthier coverage of elections and democracy... you're so wrong! We're going to keep doing it because, well, those things are important. And because it's quite possible this is the area of journalism where the industry's beliefs of what people want us to cover and what they ACTUALLY yearn for are farthest apart. Politicians can try to make government a game show, but we don't have to buy into it. That's why it's so wonderful that Jennifer Brandel and Hearken, Inc gathered up so many options for alternative election/democracy reporting approaches. You'll find tools from Hearken, Trusting News, Good Conflict, Center for Cooperative Media, the Knight Election Hub, the Center for Journalism and Democracy, and more. Use these. That's the lesson. Don't just read about them. Use them. Serve your people. https://lnkd.in/gY-ZwqRT

The SoJo Europe program has its first newsrooms. Together they cover Spain, Italy, Romania, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Lithuania, Netherlands, and Portugal. And they're going to be creating "cross-border collaborations and a robust exchange of ideas that will significantly advance the practice and impact of solutions journalism in Europe." Transitions Media has the full announcement with key details about each newsroom. Yeah. We're excited too. https://lnkd.in/gaUuAEx9

"We cannot continue to boil down diverse groups of people with complex views into stereotypes and scare quotes. When we do, we perpetuate a binary worldview that only deepens anger and aggression. We breed further distrust toward journalism and within our communities." In the latest edition of How to SoJo, we cover our new democracy reporting fellowship (U.S. newsrooms: APPLY!), an array of wonderful solutions reporting, and resources to help journalists dig out of the mass of conflict overtaking our communities ... and our coverage. This one's a keeper.

"I asked them to rank on the same 0 to 5 scale how much news they consumed every day. Turns out, the more news they consumed, the less hope and control they felt." The problem with the news isn't that it makes us feel sad. As Diana Smith observes, the problem is that it makes us feel *helpless.* Those are two distinct feelings. One speaks to mood, the other speaks to our sense of self. One can be solved with good news. The other is more complex. Diana also observes something else important in this piece, noting that the main bias held by most news organizations isn't liberal or conservative: It's a bias toward covering problems, what's wrong, what's broken, and what's failing. Changing people's relationship to the news is going to take much more than a story about kids doing a nice thing for their teacher. And, importantly, changing people's relationship to POWER is going to require rethinking what information people want and need. We are grateful Diana believes solutions journalism is part of those changes. It's time to report — richly and deeply — from beyond a good/bad news binary. https://lnkd.in/gAyNHiNt

Do you know Deborah Douglas? If not, you should. She's a journalist, educator, and director of the Midwest Solutions Journalism Hub at Northwestern University Medill School. And this summer, she's inviting you to Chi-town to talk solutions. The hub's first ever Summer Summit takes place July 30. Why should you go? - Well, look at this guest list. It's incredible. - It's free. - It's free AND meals are included. - You'll meet some of the most knowledgeable, friendly, helpful people in the SoJo universe. - You'll plug into the network and leave inspired about what's possible in your work if you report differently, AND you'll have some tools to help you actually do that. Get your tickets: https://lnkd.in/gDDRJrwY

"It turns out, more Americans want to 'celebrate what’s right' (88%) rather than 'criticize what’s wrong' (63%) in order to make society stronger." — More in Common/American Press Institute The standard belief in journalism is that journalists bring about government accountability by highlighting problems. Yet that's not the how much of the world sees our work. Instead, they see the relentless focus on failure and conflict contributing to cynicism, fatalism, polarization, and declining trust. But journalists can hold governments accountable in other ways. Today, more and more journalists are realizing that the best way to do it is by being genuinely helpful to their communities, balancing their coverage between problems and what’s working to solve them. It's not either/or; it's both. We're seeking 15 U.S.-based newsrooms that are up to the challenge of rethinking how and why they cover government and democracy, expanding the vital coverage of what’s going wrong with newsworthy stories highlighting efforts that are going right, and what communities can learn from them. This is a chance to remodel coverage of government and civic life in service of your neighbors, putting problem solving — instead of conflict and political maneuvering — front and center. Selected newsrooms will commit at least one reporter and editor to this project. You'll receive a grant of $10,000 and nine months of training, resources and coaching to integrate solutions journalism into your existing government reporting. Got questions? Join the AMA on June 24: https://lnkd.in/gxPwmTpZ When you're ready (including now) apply here: https://lnkd.in/g6PPF8Vu

Civil Eats has a 15-year record of thoughtfully covering food systems and the environment with a solutions focus. Now they want to teach you what they've learned. "Climate Solutions in Food & Farming" is perfect for anyone — journalist or otherwise — wanting to get up to speed on how climate change affects food sources and what's being done to combat it. It will be useful if you're covering these issues or just seeking understanding about the responses happening and how effective they've been. Plus the whole thing is only $15. That's $1 per year of experience! We really, really encourage you to check this out. There's nothing out there like it, you'll help support independent solutions journalism, and you'll learn a heck of a lot.