Impact Stories

The Seattle Times added a fourth reporting project on behavioral and mental health modeled after its very successful Education Lab, Traffic Lab
and Project Homeless initiatives, each of which has a small team supported with grants and sponsorships. All include solutions-focused coverage as part of their work. The new project is supported by a grant of nearly $1.1 million from Ballmer Group, a national philanthropic organization.

After it was featured in a solutions story produced by the Northeast Ohio Solutions Journalism Collaborative (https://www.ideastream.org/news/clevelands-black-churches-host-vaccine-clinics-to-protect-their-flock), an organization hosting COVID-19 vaccination clinics in historically Black churches in Cleveland received a $250,000 grant from a local funder (https://www.clevelandfoundation.org/news_items/may-4-covid-phase2-update/). The head of the initiative attributed the timing of the funding to the story, saying it raised the initiative’s profile. The
story was republished by several local media organizations in the collaborative.

Reporting from The Real News Network (TRNN) that focused on how worker cooperatives can rebuild local communities was picked up by seven other news outlets within a month of publication. Six of these news organizations interviewed Real News Network reporter Jaisal Noor, who discussed his approach, his findings and his 26-minute documentary that examines how worker cooperatives persevered through the pandemic (https://therealnews.com/worker-cooperatives-prove-your-job-doesnt-have-to-be-hell). In less than 60 days, the solutions documentary had over 6,000 views.

The Modesto Bee [April 2021] Drawing on a model from The Sacramento Bee and other McClatchy newsrooms in California, The Modesto Bee launched an Economic Mobility Lab with support from local and national funders as well as more than 250 individuals. The Lab has three reporters and an editor, and focuses on underserved communities, education and economic development in Stanislaus County, according to editor Brian Clark. Community engagement and solutions-based journalism will be central to the Lab’s success, he said.

After reading the newsroom’s solutions-oriented series about new approaches to providing mental health support to children (https://www.idahoednews.org/featured-series/mental-health-in-schools/), Eric Studebaker, director of student engagement and safety coordination at the Idaho State Department of Education, invited a school district employee who had been featured in the reporting to speak to a group of stakeholders. This group, in turn, made recommendations for improving access to mental health in schools that the Department of Education is now considering.

The Reporter helped push its city to address homelessness by publishing a solutions series on potential pathways forward (https://www.sfreporter.com/news/2021/03/22/mayor-proposes-cash-infusion-for-housing/). The reporting (here https://www.sfreporter.com/news/coverstories/2021/03/03/house-rules/ and here https://www.sfreporter.com/news/coverstories/2021/03/10/home-game/) highlighted the need for cash to build a trust fund for affordable housing and the benefits of inclusionary zoning.