Facilitate Civil Discourse Between Disparate Groups
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I. Introduction (15m)
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II. Choose Your Own Adventure (30m)
- Ensure Coverage is Relevant to Community Concerns
- Amplify Community Voices
- Reach Marginalized or Undercovered Communities
- Create a Platform for Participatory Civic Action
- Facilitate Civil Discourse Between Disparate Groups
- Deliver Deeper Customer Value
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III. Case Studies (50m)
- AL.com ("Tackling the Gap")
- Choteau Acantha ("The Montana Gap")
- The Christian Science Monitor
- Detroit Free Press ("Our Children: Searching for Solutions")
- KCPT
- Minneapolis Star Tribune ("Muslims and De-Radicalization: What Works?")
- The Seattle Times ("Education Lab")
- The Tennessean ("The Cost of Growth and Change"; "Civility Tennessee")
- Wyoming Public Media ("I Respectfully Disagree")
- Your Voice Ohio
Promoting constructive conversation, especially between polarized groups, seems harder today than ever. Yet most people actually do want to connect. Solutions journalism can change the quality and tone of public discourse by focusing participants on possible outcomes and how to get there, rather than on what’s wrong and who is to blame.
Solutions-oriented engagement strategies not only change the conversation between reporters and the community, but also within the community itself. Examining issues via the solutions lens can ease the path to productive discussions on polarizing political topics, presenting an opportunities to construct shared narratives, enhancing civility and dialogue between disparate groups.
Tackling tough issues is often difficult without safe spaces where sensitive conversations can happen without fear and judgment. Creating these physical and digital spaces takes time and skill, but newsrooms have found that this investment can pay off in the quality and relevance of the solutions reporting that emerges. Moreover, these spaces often build a new connections between participants who continue the conversation after the solutions project or engagement activity has ended.
Our partners have found various ways to foster dialogue around change. Well-organized community forums make people more comfortable to talk about issues in an open fashion. A private digital space, such as a Facebook group, can provide the right atmosphere to catalyze conversation between opposing groups to generate ideas for further reporting and engagement.
