Introduction

In a survey of newsroom leaders conducted by SJN in 2017, the most commonly-mentioned obstacle to adoption of solutions journalism was a lack of time and resources.

While some editors argue that solutions reporting is no more intensive or demanding than other forms of journalism, the reality is that newsrooms of all sizes face capacity constraints due to the rapidly changing news and media environment. With daily deadline demands and ever scarcer resources in newsrooms, jobs with the breathing room to do ambitious reporting seem ever more scarce.

In this section, you’ll find some ways to confront the time and resource challenge, from big picture editorial adjustments to smaller practical tactics that increase the efficiency of reporting. We’ll offer some lessons learned from newsrooms that have found partnerships and collaborations to be an effective way to implement solutions journalism projects. You’ll also read about newsrooms that have leveraged solutions journalism projects to open up new avenues for fundraising.