Please read the instructor's welcome message for Module 4
This week we will focus on Building solutions journalism into your workflow. We'll dispel misconceptions about solutions journalism, talk about being a solutions whisperer, how to propose a solutions story/series, and how to measure success.
For editors interested in solutions journalism, we'll look to determine when to invest scarce newsroom resources in these types of stories. But, ultimately, it means reckoning with the questions: What are the most relevant, most valuable stories we can bring to our audience? What needs to be added to the public conversation? And what stories are we doing just because we've always done them?
The idea of solutions journalism resonates immediately with some journalists. But some need clarification on the approach. Swati Sanyal Tarafdar, a Solutions Journalism Network LEDE fellow based in India, will unpack the three phases of a solutions journalism workstream: planning, execution, and story processing.
We will also discuss changing the mindset that a solutions journalism story must only focus on the solution. There is much to learn from responses that do not work.
And we will learn from some best practices on the best approach to pitching solutions journalism stories in your newsroom.
In this module's readings, we'll be looking at measuring success by using data, differentiating between outputs and actual outcomes, and increasing revenue through solutions journalism.
Thank you, and see you at the finish line,
Hugo