The Solutions Journalism Network (SJN) is an independent, non-profit organization that advocates an approach called solutions journalism. It was founded in 2013 by David Bornstein, Courtney E. Martin, and Tina Rosenberg. Its staff in New York City and Oakland, Calif., help journalists and news organizations across the country understand, value and build the capacity to do solutions-oriented reporting.
Contents
- History
- Philosophy
- Strategy
- Workshops
- Newsroom engines
- Education coverage
- Toolkit
- Curriculum
- Network
- Criticism
- Funding
- Funders
- Pro Bono Partners
- Collaborating Institutions
- References
The mission of SJN is “to legitimize and spread the practice of solutions journalism: rigorous and compelling reporting about responses to social problems.” What SJN calls solutions journalism is preceded by very similar journalistic styles that have been practiced outside the United States, including “constructive journalism,” which originated in Denmark.
As of April, 2015, SJN says, it had created working relationships with 40 newsrooms in the United States exposing several hundred journalists to the practice of solutions journalism.
History
The Solutions Journalism Network grew out of the “Fixes” column in The New York Times’ Opinionator section written by prominent journalists David Bornstein and Tina Rosenberg since October, 2010. Together with Courtney Martin, an author, speaker, blogger and frequent contributor to “Fixes,” they established SJN in February, 2013.
SJN’s first major project was a collaboration with The Seattle Times to produce a year-long series of solutions-oriented stories about public education called Education Lab. This initiative since has been extended for a second year. In its first year, SJN also launched a series of funds to provide financial support to journalists pursuing solutions stories on topics concerning climate change resilience, social and emotional learning, and women’s economic equity.
Philosophy
SJN believes that most news reporting fails to fulfill journalism’s mission to hold an accurate mirror up to society. While traditional journalism holds that a reporter’s primary role is to expose problems, SJN argues that the press should also examine examples of responses to those problems, with the same degree of rigor. These responses, it holds, are an important part of what is happening in the world, and accurate coverage of society must include them to be able to provide the whole story.
SJN attempts to distinguish solutions journalism from “happy news,” fluff or advocacy. By covering how people are attempting to solve problems, and writing objectively about the associated evidence of failure or success, solutions journalism seeks to provide information of value to society. SJN argues that such reporting strengthens the watchdog function of journalism: if some people have found newsworthy responses to a problem, it removes the excuses of those who are behaving badly.
SJN also argues that a steady diet of problem-focused reporting makes citizens passive, apathetic and disengaged. Research shows that news that is only about what’s wrong with the world causes readers to disengage.
For example, one study shows that negative messages about the impending environmental disaster of climate change make people less likely to take action, not more likely.
SJN posits that readers are more likely to engage when they can learn about newsworthy attempts to solve problems. These stories elicit positive emotions that are different than the heartwarming emotions produced by “happy news” stories. Instead, they make readers feel a sense of empowerment — a productive emotion for civic engagement.
Research by the University of Texas Engaging News Project finds compared the responses of study participants who read traditional problem-focused stories or the same stories with a solutions component added. Readers of the solutions stories were, by large margins, more likely to feel inspired and optimistic, get involved in working towards a solution, share the article and want to read more articles in the same publication.
The Seattle Times has found similar results when surveying readers about its Ed Lab stories.
Strategy
To achieve its mission, SJN works with journalists and news organizations to build awareness and the practice of solutions reporting. It does so in a variety of ways:
Workshops
SJN offers newsrooms workshops and webinars intended to introduce solutions journalism as a practice. Participants learn:
• specific techniques for writing solutions stories without falling into fluff, advocacy, happy news or public relations • systems for finding legitimate stories • storytelling techniques such as how to manage tension and use characters • how to integrate solutions writing into forms of journalism they are already practicing, such as beat, enterprise, and investigative reporting.
Newsroom engines
SJN works with leading news organizations to build solutions-oriented coverage of health and violence. Examples of newsrooms in these projects are the Detroit Free Press, KPCC Public Radio in Los Angeles and PRI’s “The World” radio show.
The Health Engine project helps journalists find “positive deviants” in health databases, as opposed to focusing on negative outliers. SJN provides participating newsrooms with workshops, data and research help and funding at various levels, most of it modest amounts for travel.
The health project was a winner of the Knight News Challenge, and has also received funding from the California HealthCare Foundation. The Violence Engine is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Education coverage
In October, 2013, The Seattle Times launched a series of education-related articles, documentaries, and guest opinion pieces written from a solutions standpoint. The Times, with SJN’s support, has assigned two journalists to the project full-time. They write a major feature article each month addressing perennial issues with education, like dropout rates, attendance, parent involvement. They also produce an Education Lab blog, which now attracts over 60,000 views each month. This series has been instrumental in stimulating community dialogue and engagement with education-related issues.
Responses from a survey taken of Seattle Times readers indicated that people are aware of the campaign and feel that the solutions stories being run are different from traditional journalism. Other results indicated that people are more likely to share, act on, or change their think about an issue due to the solutions stories they read. Some respondents stated that they felt that the solutions journalism was biased, while others said they were happy with the positive approach to issue.
In March 2015, The Boston Globe and SJN began a collaboration to produce two major solutions-focused series on issues affecting education in Boston and the state of Massachusetts.
Toolkit
In January 2015, the SJN released a downloadable “Solutions Journalism Toolkit” intended to help educate journalists interested in emphasizing solutions in their work. The 48-page toolkit walks readers through the ins and outs of solutions journalism, including what solutions journalism is and what it isn’t, and how to write solutions stories.
Curriculum
SJN, in partnership with Temple University’s School of Media and Communication, is developing courses for journalism students. It has also collaborated with the Poynter Institute to produce a free solutions journalism webinar on Poynter’s NewU site. SJN and Poynter are now developing a free interactive online course in solutions journalism
Network
SJN is building a network of freelance and staff journalists and news organizations, with both online and offline activities that recognize successful solutions journalism approaches and facilitate collaboration and learning.
Criticism
Solutions journalism and the Solutions Journalism Network have drawn criticism from those who see the practice as an attempt to soften journalism’s watchdog role. Despite SJN’s efforts to convince people that if done right, solutions stories are not soft (and can even make investigative journalism even more hard-hitting and high-impact), critics argue that in an era of extremely limited resources, a focus on what works necessarily leaves less time for exposing society’s problems.
Another important criticism is that doing a rigorous solutions story usually involves a considerable reporting time and ample space or airtime to tell the story. Today it is the rare journalist who has those luxuries. This means that it can be difficult to do solutions stories to a high standard — and solutions stories that fall short can indeed become examples of bad journalism such as happy news or advocacy.
The Solutions Journalism Network and The Seattle Times drew early criticism for a potential conflict of interest. The major funder of the Education Lab collaboration is the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which has a very defined and controversial position on education issues. The Seattle Times and SJN attempted to head off criticism by being open from the start about the project’s funding.
More recently, the New York Times has drawn similar criticisms. Co-founder of SJN Tina Rosenberg has written several articles in the New York Times column "Fixes," praising educational companies or strategies that are funded in part by the Gates Foundation or Bill Gates himself, without disclosing her potential conflict of interest. Despite complaints from Class Size Matters, the New York Times has failed to rectify this lack of transparency.
Funding
SJN is backed by a number of charitable funders and pro bono partners. These are: