Impact Stories

J.D. Long Garcia, an editor at America magazine and an accredited solutions journalism trainer, pitched the idea of having solutions journalism sessions as part of the onboarding of interns, and management accepted it. The magazine’s management took part in Long Garcia’s training and found a place for the practice among its new talent. America magazine has around six interns every year, ranging from students finishing college to professionals well into a career. Using the training he received from SJN, Long Garcia offers these interns a module that is optional but encouraged. Long Garcia said solutions journalism has changed the way he thinks about reporting — it “leads me to ask different questions as a journalist.” He added: “Frankly, it helps me take a more neutral stance. There is something quite unifying about a solutions-centered approach. Most people do want to solve problems. They just don't agree on how.”

A story by Rwandan journalist Annonciata Byukusenge prompted a funder of Village Kitchen, an initiative that addresses childhood malnutrition by training parents to prepare balanced meals with local food, to increase its financial support. Byukusenge shared the published story directly with Samson Desie, UNICEF Rwanda nutritionist, who was a source for the article. Desie, impressed with the finished story, told Byukusenge that UNICEF would increase its investment in Village Kitchen due to the evidence provided in the story’s reporting on the initiative’s beneficiaries, who spoke of Village Kitchen’s effectiveness at reducing malnutrition. Following this conversation, UNICEF and China announced their support for the Government of Rwanda to enhance early childhood development, which includes tackling malnutrition and stunting among children. Daniel Otunge of Science Africa, which published the story, says, “The main thing SoJo added to the reporting on the malnutrition in Rwanda was the unique response to the problem by the government and communities working together, rather than just focusing on the problem.”

Inspired by her Solutions Journalism Network (SJN) training, Duygu Uzunoglu, an accredited solutions journalism trainer in Turkey, spearheaded Solutionsphere, a mentorship program initiated through NewsLabTurkey. The 18-month initiative offers comprehensive workshops and mentorship in solutions and investigative journalism, partnering with six diverse media organizations (Seferi Keçi, Kısa Dalga, Muzır Neşriyat, Bursa Tanık, Evrensel, and Mesele Ekonomi). For many of these media partners, Solutionsphere represents an empowering introduction to solutions journalism, providing journalists with practical skills and renewed motivation in Turkey’s challenging media landscape. This collaboration highlights how institutional support and international training opportunities can foster meaningful journalistic impact and innovation. According to Uzunoglu, the news organizations find that “solutions journalism feels like a small but meaningful spark of hope and agency” in a country that has many challenges for journalists.

Chibuike Alagboso, who is director of media programs for Nigeria Health Watch as well as an accredited solutions journalism trainer and former SJN LEDE Fellow, has spread solutions journalism education and innovation outside of Nigeria through several international platforms and conferences. He has had papers accepted at multiple conferences, including the International AIDS Conference in Munich, Germany, where he pitched a SoJo-inspired photo exhibition; the Global Health Security Conference in Australia; and the Future of Family Planning Convening, hosted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Washington, D.C. He also presented a SoJo-AI idea at the Africa Media Festival in Nairobi. Alagbaso says that solutions journalism insights and innovation should go beyond journalism: “[They] should be in conversations about agriculture, climate change, health security. We should be talking about how these issues are covered using the SoJo framework. That way, it can hopefully inform actions, practices and policies around those issues.”

The Climate School initiative, in collaboration with Greenpeace, has launched the Climate School Award for Arab Climate Journalism. This is the first regional award in the Middle East and North Africa dedicated to climate journalism, which has a goal of recognizing journalism in the Arabic language that addresses climate change in the region. The award includes a category for “Best Climate Solutions Report,” and winners will be announced in May 2025. Co-founder Rahma Diaa says: “We ensured that the award included a dedicated category for solutions journalism to encourage journalists to produce more climate solutions reports. Audience surveys have confirmed the public’s preference for solutions journalism, particularly when discussing the climate crisis […] Solutions journalism plays an effective role in raising climate awareness in communities, helping the public understand climate solutions, assess their effectiveness, and inspire them to innovate more solutions to address the climate crisis.” Diaa is an accredited solutions journalism trainer who has presented on climate solutions journalism through the Climate Journalism Diploma, organized by the Climate School in collaboration with the International Journalists’ Network and Greenpeace.

In November 2024, Nigeria Health Watch (NHW) and the School of Media and Communication at Pan-Atlantic University held a solutions journalism master class for 10 newsroom editors and leaders. The cohort included a participant from the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), the country’s national broadcasting platform. Following the masterclass, Mohammed Ali, a director of the NTA, with management’s support, launched a dedicated solutions journalism desk within its newsroom, which broadcasts to one of the largest audiences in sub-Saharan Africa. NTA invited NHW to its journalism clinics to introduce over 30 staff members to solutions journalism, review stories for quality and editorial alignment. Chibuike Alagboso, NHW’s director of media programs, says: “The establishment of this desk marks a critical shift — from one-off SoJo stories to a structured, sustained editorial focus. Already, the desk has begun working across departments to embed SoJo principles in news production, influencing how reporters frame stories and how audiences engage with the news.”