Impact Stories

Infobae and Red/Acción (2022): Solutions journalism-focused outlet Red/Acción of Argentina developed a paid syndication partnership (https://www.infobae.com/america/2021/04/28/infobae-y-redaccion-presentan-la-iniciativa-soluciones-para-america-latina/) to cross-publish stories with Infobae, a digital publication that is one of the most read Spanish-language online newspapers worldwide. Over a hundred stories were published in a dedicated section titled “Soluciones.” (https://www.infobae.com/america/soluciones/) Both outlets won multiple prizes from Adepa, the Argentinian journalism organization, for their solutions journalism, and a couple of the partnership’s stories received more than one million page views.

The 19th [November 2021]: After The 19th, a nonprofit newsroom based in Texas, wrote about a diaper bank that helps parents obtain that costly necessity, the public responded with a flood of donations. Readers told The 19th that the story helped them understand why diapers, which can’t be purchased with federal aid, are a mostly invisible contributor to poverty, and many contributed to the Diaper Bank of the Ozarks, their local diaper banks or the National Diaper Bank Network.

Granite State News Collaborative [April 2022]: Since 2019, the Granite State News Collaborative has raised more than $140,000 for its work, which includes a significant amount of solutions journalism, and several of its major funders have said the group’s solutions journalism is one key reason for their support. More than 20 media and educational organizations across New Hampshire are members of the collaborative, which jointly writes stories and convenes community conversations on critical issues. The group’s latest project centers on race and equity, with solutions stories focused on refugee education, restorative justice and responses to hate crimes in the state.

Montana Free Press [December 2021]: A three-part solutions-focused series on regenerative agriculture helped Montana Free Press (MTFP) significantly increase readership and raise more than $8,000 directly from readers. The first part of the “Common Ground” series brought in 29,000 visitors, 78% of whom were new to the site. MTFP then decided to launch a crowdfunding campaign to support reporting for the series, which brought in more than three times the initial goal of $2,500. The news team also embedded a short survey with its first two stories and received 850 responses, with 61% expressing interest in a limited-newsletter series on the subject of regenerative agriculture.

The New York Times [December 2021]: In an effort to to explore the world’s challenges through the lens of progress, The New York Times launched an initiative called Headway with a series of stories called “Hindsight” that looked at predictions from the past that did — or didn’t — come true and why, examining what could be learned from them. Headway is a philanthropically funded initiative that includes a partnership with the Solutions Journalism Network under which SJN will help train Headway contributors and staff. As part of Headway, The Times will also pioneer an online public square, focused on community-building, transparency, engagement and data dissemination. The goal is to support and encourage conversation, education and research around the topics Headway addresses.

The Real News Network [December 2021]: A private donor contributed $20,000 to The Real News Network, inspired by its reporting on how activists are using community organizing to fight voter suppression (https://therealnews.com/how-do-you-fight-voter-suppression-grassroots-organizers-in-wisconsin-have-an-answer). The network, a multimedia news outlet based in Baltimore, is one of 10 newsrooms supported by the Solutions Journalism Network’s Advancing Democracy initiative. John Duda, executive director of The Real News Network, said it would use the funding to do follow-up stories closer to the midterm elections.