Beyond Complaining
Top Story: Can this problem be fixed?
We love to complain.
In fact, isn’t that kind of our job? We hold truth to power; then we tell everyone how the powerful are messing up.
Satisfying. Except that right now a lot of Americans tell us government isn’t really working for them. They are desperate for solutions.
So, how do we help?
Reporting Right turned to one of our favorite partners — The Solutions Journalism Network —for inspiration. Here are some of their best recent stories and our tips.
How to get off the “broken” treadmill
Break some good news.
No one wants to be a Pollyanna reporter, picking up government press releases and doing glowing reports on questionable government practices. But...everyone wants to tell a story that challenges conventional wisdom.
LIKE THIS: Wait, I thought Florida hated environmentalists.
Think out of your beat.
While most of us are constrained by geographic or topical beats, solutions journalism asks us to go beyond those boundaries. Look to other towns, other counties, other countries. Tell stories about what is working in other places to solve problems your community is struggling with, too.
Talk to the powerful.
We often report for and about community underdogs. But solutions journalism is often about flagging ideas that powerbrokers might want to get behind. Make sure your reporting is detailed enough to engage them.
LIKE THIS: Crime is down in Baltimore. This is how.
Hurting; not helping.
An important time to do deep dive solutions journalism is when a solution is about to get unfunded.
LIKE THIS: Dallas figured out homelessness; then the MAGA came knocking.
Be honest.
Some solutions are miracles. Most aren’t. Communities really benefit when reporters avoid reductive journalism and do nuanced reporting that includes what part of a proposed solution is successful, and what part isn’t.
Measure. Then tell them how you measured.
How are you deciding a solution is working? Make sure you know how success is being measured — and that it’s verifiable. Share all that with your audience.
Money and Sense.
Solutions are costly; and communities need to know potential price tags. Make sure you are reporting on them, even if you are just using estimates. Find experts who can offer ranges. Include those.
Credit where credit is due.
Often it’s behind-the-scenes actors who dream up big ideas and execute them. Make sure you include those folks in your reporting. The mayor may want to take credit. But a better story might be about the guy in the planning department who know one has ever heard of.
LIKE THIS: Give thanks to librarians.
Check out the Solutions Journalism Network toolkit HERE.
Apply for a grant HERE.
Also in the news
Dems say to military: “Don’t Do Anything illegal.” Trump wants them hanged.
Democracy: They like the idea; not so much the implementation.
Coast Guard gives the Swastika an upgrade.
New York Post heading to California.
We’re Reading
How I Got Hooked On Solutions Journalism
Comic Relief
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Our Staff
Executive Editor Kyle Spencer
Our Board of Advisors
Alex Aronson, executive director of Court Accountability
David Armiak, research director for the Center for Media and Democracy
Connor Gibson, founder of Grassrootbeer Investigations
Maurice Cunningham, retired associate professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts at Boston and author of Dark Money and The Politics of School Privatization.
Isaac Kamola, associate professor of political science at Trinity College, founder of Faculty First Responders and co-author of Free Speech and Koch Money, Manufacturing a Campus Culture War
Nancy MacLean, William H. Chafe distinguished professor of history and public policy at Duke University and author of Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America
Ralph Wilson, founder of the Corporate Genome Project and co-author of Free Speech and Koch Money, Manufacturing a Campus Culture War
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