Participants in a Student Media Challenge event speak with each another

Impact Stories

News organizations around the world are transforming journalism — and their communities. See how a global network of news organizations and journalists uses solutions journalism to strengthen communities, advance equity, build trust, increase civic engagement, depolarize public discourse and discover new sources of revenue.

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Community engagement & action
An irrigation story helped foster technology’s spread
RiffReporter, a German digital publication that covers science, the environment and society, worked on a series of solutions journalism articles as part of a series titled “Lessons from Africa.” In one instance, the story, “Unter der Erde bewässern, Energie sparen und gleichzeitig mehr produzieren?” (“Can underground irrigation help farmers save water and energy and produce more?”), led Dr. Bellachheb Chahbani, the inventor of the Chahtech underground diffuser, to receive inquiries from people in Germany about his product as well as purchase orders for the watering system. The story was also referenced in a documentary by German public-television broadcaster ZDF.
Builds Trust
Covering improved cities while improving reader satisfaction
9/2023
In 2023, The Bristol Cable, a local media cooperative based in Bristol, England, published a series of solutions-oriented articles for its Future of Cities project, developed during its participation in the Solutions Journalism Accelerator (coordinated by the European Journalism Center, with support from SJN). As part of the project’s evaluation, the newsroom ran an audience survey to discover the work’s impact on readers, which generated 127 responses. Over 80% of people surveyed said they “generally or always finished the long read articles,” “learned either a lot or something from engaging with the project,” and “felt more connected to The Cable.” After reading a piece of reporting from the series, 43% of respondents said they “felt more empowered to act,” while 15 people pledged to financially support the cooperative by becoming members of the cooperative, as a result of engaging with the Future of Cities series.
Career Development
SoJo expanded a veteran journalist’s focus
9/2023
Chris Nichols (2023): Veteran journalist Chris Nichols, of CapRadio, the NPR affiliate public radio station in Sacramento, worked as an editor on several story assignments for Solving Sacramento, a local news collaborative focused on reporting solutions-oriented stories. Engaging with a project dedicated to that editorial approach was a professional development opportunity: For his ongoing coverage at the radio station of affordable housing in the city, solutions journalism also made sense. “It’s reinforced the important message that as a newsroom we can showcase not only the problems but ways they might be fixed,” he said. “We’ve also discovered there’s a strong appetite for these stories online.” One of the solutions-focused stories he’s worked on is “Sacramento turns to ‘micro apartments’ to ease affordable housing crunch.”
Dissemination
University pioneers new journalism course
8/2023
Medill School of Journalism (2023): Beginning in fall of 2023, the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, started teaching a Social Justice and Solutions Journalism specialization as part of its Master of Science in Journalism. The focus of the course is on “journalism that makes the world a better place, revealing inequities and injustices while also highlighting solutions, best practices and the triumphs and voices of regular people.”
Dissemination
Crescent University
8/2023
Crescent University (2023): A growing number of universities in Nigeria are offering solutions journalism modules and courses to their students. This expansion came from the impetus of two educators, Rasheed Adebiyi and Jamiu Folarin, who decided to incorporate this editorial approach in their teaching as part of a Solutions Journalism Africa Initiative fellowship (coordinated by Science Africa in Kenya and Nigeria Health Watch, with the support of SJN). While the National Universities Commission, a government body that reviews and approves curriculum, did not include solutions journalism as a compulsory subject in journalism schools in its recent review, it now “allows universities to include it as a standalone course or module within existing journalism programs,” said Folarin, lecturer and researcher at Crescent University, Abeokuta. Eight higher education institutions provide courses or modules that include solutions journalism (Crescent University, Fountain University, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Osun State University, Nigeria Institute of Journalism (NIJ), Summit University, Iresi Polytechnic, Federal Polytechnic Ilaro). In addition, Folarin and Adebiyi are fostering an educator network, SoJo Hubs in six locations across the country, the promotion of SoJo student clubs, a Student Media Challenge modeled after the one convened by SJN, and solutions journalism sessions at two academic conferences.
Builds Trust
The solutions reporting contributing to digital equity in New Mexico
7/2023
The Southern New Mexico Journalism Collaborative has dedicated itself to covering both the problems of and solutions to the digital divide in Southern New Mexico. Reporter Reyes Mata III, who is bilingual, covered the grassroots organization Mamacítas Cibernéticas as it led a community research project to understand the digital gaps and needs of the local population in Sunland Park. Amid a history of distrust toward the media, the reporting by Mata, a Spanish-speaking journalist who spent time earning the trust of local people to give a more respectful representation of their experiences and voices, improved their perception of the role the media can play in serving their community. One of the organizers said, “Your coverage also helps with holding relevant stakeholders accountable for their actions or lack of actions,” adding, “I hope we can continue to work together to achieve digital equity in southern Doña Ana County.”

How solutions journalism works — in Kampala, Uganda

Former Solutions Journalism Network LEDE Fellows Caleb Okereke of Minority Africa and Abaas Mpindi of Media Challenge Initiative illustrate the impact of solutions journalism on their work and how its spread can counteract harmful stereotypes of Africa.

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How has solutions journalism made a difference in your world? Add an impact story to the Impact Tracker.