THE RESPONSE FREE!
Weekly email with three solutions stories illustrating responses that work, pivoting off the latest news moments.
LEARNING LAB
Your one-stop guide to producing solutions journalism—rigorous and compelling reporting on responses to social problems. From finding great story ideas, to asking the perfect interview question, to spinning a powerful narrative, it all starts here.
2 hours
What You'll Learn: The key tenets of solutions journalism. What is it? What is it not? Why is it important? And how to make it happen, from idea to reporting to completed story.
Who It's For: Journalists who want to add rigor and impact to any sort of reporting.
Preview →I. Introduction (30min)
Welcome
How do I know it's Solutions Journalism?
How do I know it's NOT Solutions Journalism?
Why Solutions Journalism?
What Kind of Impact Can Solutions Journalism Have?
Solutions Journalism in Your Workflow?
II. Basic Reporting (60min)
Steps to Creating a Solutions Story
Introduction
Reporting Instructively on Failure
Slices
Bringing a Solutions Lens to Short Pieces
Solutions Journalism and Investigations
Introduction
Good Solutions Stories...
Conducting Interviews for a Solutions-Oriented Story?
Introduction
Crafting Your Pitch
Bringing a Solutions Focus to Your Beat
III. Basic Storytelling (30min)
Structuring a Solutions-Oriented Story
Story Type: Positive Deviant
Story Type: Big New Idea
Story Type: Experiment in Progress
Story Type: Location Transformation
Heroes vs. Characters
Health Guide
1 hour, 10 minutes
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN: How to use solutions reporting to enhance coverage of complex issues such as access to care, substance use disorder, and mental health treatment.
WHO IT'S FOR: Health reporters aiming to shift the lens on their beat.
Education Guide
1 hour, 25 minutes
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN: How to apply the solutions lens to the most pressing issues in public education, with a special focus on navigating complex evidence.
WHO IT'S FOR: Education beat reporters who want to raise the bar on their coverage.
Violence Guide
1 hour
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN: How to reframe coverage of gun crime, sexual assault, detention, and more — with advice and examples from reporters in the trenches.
WHO IT'S FOR: Journalists ready to change their approach to reporting on crime.
Collaborative Playbook
2 hours
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN: How to design an effective collaborative between/among news organizations, including how to surmount challenges such as editorial direction, spending decisions of shared funds and internal communications.
WHO IT'S FOR: Editors interested in designing a collaborative or working with other news organizations in a joint reporting initiative.
J-School Curriculum Builder
2 hours, 30 minutes
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN: How to teach solutions journalism in a J-School setting. How to construct lessons, from a single module to an entire semester's course, in the approach.
WHO IT'S FOR: J-School professors who want to teach solutions journalism.
Engagement Toolkit
2 hours, 30 minutes
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN: How to use solutions reporting to create a platform for more constructive engagement. How to drive productive public discourse and online discussions to strengthen agency and innovation within the communities you serve.
WHO IT'S FOR: Journalists who want to meaningfully connect and build relationships with their audiences.
Editor Toolkit
2 hours, 30 minutes
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN: How to institutionalize solutions journalism into newsroom practice on a consistent and ongoing basis. How to communicate the value of solutions journalism to your team, find the time and resources, and work across beats and geographies to surface credible responses.
WHO IT'S FOR: Editors wishing to facilitate the transition towards solutions journalism in their newsroom.
Help us grow our database of solutions stories! Please enter the following information. Our staff will review the story, and if it meets our criteria (see below), it will be added to the Solutions Story Tracker®.
If you want to get notified when your story is added, register or login before submitting stories here.
Great suggestion! So great, that we already have that story listed in the Solutions Story Tracker®. View it here.
It may take a few weeks to see your piece in the Solutions Story Tracker®, as we have a backlog of submissions longer than Ben Hur that we’re diligently working to eliminate. We appreciate your patience.
If you want to get:
JOIN TODAY! It only takes 2 minutes and its completely free.
Weekly email with three solutions stories illustrating responses that work, pivoting off the latest news moments.
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Photo Credits: Almudena Toral; Gabe Hernandez/Corpus Christi Caller-Times; Cody Pope; Matt Stokes
All other photos are licensed under Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike 2.0 Generic Creative Commons license, and are credited to the following photographers: Rowan El Shimi; Samuele Arcidiacono; Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum 2017 © DW/H. W. Lamberz
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