Impact Stories

The television network CBS trained news leaders at the local stations it owns — including those in major markets like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago — to bring solutions journalism to their audiences. It also formed a cross-station “CBS Local News Innovation Lab” so that these leaders can work on solutions-focused reporting together. Chad Cross, who heads the Innovation Lab, has led solutions coverage for years — first in his role at KXAN in Austin, where he helped lead two award-winning solutions reporting projects: “S.O.S. Save Our Students” and “Pandemic Pass or Fail.” He was the only TV executive to take part in one of SJN’s Train-the-Trainer workshops in 2022. Wendy McMahon, president and chief executive officer of CBS News and Stations, said CBS is focusing on solutions because it wants to “look past the who, what, where and why to ask: ‘How can we help? How can we help make our communities better places to live?’ That’s the aspiration.”

To connect and build trust with community members, the Wichita Journalism Collaborative partnered with a local library to offer weekly “office hours.” Maren Berblinger, a project manager for the collaborative, said the goal was to “provide inspiration and sourcing for solutions stories that we as journalists might be distant from.” In the first few weeks of the program, community members were already dropping in to share story ideas and let collaborative representatives know what story topics would hold their interest.

QnotesCarolinas, a news outlet in Charlotte, North Carolina, focused on LGBTQ+ issues, published “Workplace equity in Charlotte,” a solutions story highlighting the work of the Carolinas LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce in support of LGBTQ+-led businesses and more inclusive workplace practices. The work was informed by an audience survey related to issues such as pay equity, gender biases, the absence of anti-discriminatory policies and toxic work environments. The survey data and story were highlighted in a June 2023 tweet (https://twitter.com/BraxtonWinston/status/1664811071905976321?s=20) by Mayor Pro Tem Braxton Winston, who is also running for commissioner of labor in North Carolina.

TECHO, a youth-led nonprofit organization that works in informal settlements building transitional housing, was introduced to solutions journalism by David Flier, an editor with the Argentinian online publication Red/Acción. Inspired by the potential impact of reporting on evidence-based responses to problems, TECHO organized a workshop on solutions journalism for three more nonprofits, all of which are now considering how to integrate the solutions approach into their own work.

Following the publication of a solutions story about Afghan refugees in Manhattan, Kansas, The Journal’s publisher, the Kansas Leadership Center, partnered with the Afghan Resettlement Team to host a block party and cultural celebration. In an article by the Manhattan Mercury, Fatima Jaghoori, one of the organizers, said, “It really makes everyone feel at home, everyone feels safe.” U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, who co-sponsored the federal Afghan Adjustment Act of 2023, was in attendance, saying he had the “desire to make certain that people feel welcome to a community and to [the] country.”

Journalist and trainer Sanne Breimer organized a retreat in May 2023 for fellow reporters integrating three of her areas of expertise: solutions journalism, yoga and decoloniality. This first-of-its-kind event brought together eight women from Europe and Africa. Interest also came from people in the UAE, Nepal and the U.S. Breimer got the idea for the event after participating in SJN’s 2022 Train-the-Trainers program.