Participants in the 2022 SJN Summit speak with each other in a conference room

Mission

Our mission is to transform journalism so that all people have access to news that helps them envision and build a more equitable and sustainable world.

What Is Solutions Journalism?

Solutions journalism is rigorous and compelling reporting about responses to social problems, which includes these key elements:

Response

Focuses on a response to a social problem — and on how that response has worked, or why it hasn’t

Insight

Shows what can be learned from a response and why it matters to a newsroom’s audience

Evidence

Provides data or qualitative results that indicate effectiveness (or a lack thereof)

Limitations

Places responses in context; doesn’t shy away from revealing shortcomings

Solutions journalism investigates and explains, in a critical and clear-eyed way, how people try to solve widely shared problems. While journalists usually define news as “what’s gone wrong,” solutions journalism tries to expand that definition: Responses to problems are also newsworthy. By adding rigorous coverage of solutions, journalists can tell the whole story.

Solutions journalism complements and strengthens coverage of problems. Done well, solutions stories provide valuable insights that help communities with the difficult work of tackling problems like homelessness or climate change, skyrocketing housing prices or low voter turnout. We also know from research that solutions stories can change the tone of public discourse, making it less divisive and more constructive. By revealing what has worked, such stories have led to meaningful change.

Our approach to network building includes:

Supporting entrepreneurial actors

Aligned and empowered individuals and entities rapidly bring solutions journalism to new markets.

Connecting communities of learning

Bringing together like-minded journalism actors reinforces and accelerates learning and practice change across networks.

Amplifying and disseminating insights

Surfacing and highlighting critical intelligence speeds innovation in journalism and in society.

Celebrating 10 Years

We gathered in December 2023 to celebrate a decade of solutions journalism, impact, insights, and the people who have made this possible.