|
|
|
|
|
|
 Above the fold | Digest
The bi-weekly dispatch from SJN
|| February 2, 2022
|
|
“Health is the place where all the social forces converge.” I overheard this during a health equity seminar organized by bioethics organization The Hastings Center, and it stuck with me. In the past two years we have watched up close, sometimes in horror and disbelief, as the social forces of education, politics, environment and economics converged with health. In that convergence, we bore witness to common themes such as systemic issues in healthcare policy and practice, health disparities among communities of color and health inequities within our nation.
But journalists can tell stories differently to catalyze change in the public health conversation. This year, we are launching a yearlong health equity initiative for newsrooms that want to reimagine the way they cover health issues. We want to support journalists in covering healthcare beyond the urgency of the moment by delving deeply into stories that investigate responses to health equity issues.
This yearlong opportunity, running between April 2022-23, comes with $20,000 for newsrooms that want to step beyond reacting to the latest crisis and instead investigate the root causes of the crises. We’re looking for five newsrooms in the U.S. willing to be part of a community of practice calling meaningful attention to pervasive health issues and those actively working to address it in our cities and communities. Find out more about this initiative here, then apply here. The deadline is February 11th.
- Ashley Hopkinson, Health Equity Initiative manager
|
|
...And don't forget Democracy SOS
In the previous Above the Fold, we announced the Democracy SOS Fellowship, launched in partnership with Hearken, Trusting News, and Poynter. Over nine months, newsrooms will receive training in solutions journalism, community engagement, transparency, the Citizens Agenda election reporting approach, "good conflict" and plenty more to help you leave the horse race behind and build political coverage that empowers and informs your communities. The priority deadline of February 7 approaches, so learn more and apply here.
|
|
|
|
Soon: The Solutions Journalism Accelerator
|
|
|
We are honored to partner with the European Journalism Centre to support the launch of the Solutions Journalism Accelerator, a program that will provide financial support, mentoring, resources, skills development and knowledge transfer for solutions-focused development journalism in European media organizations. This will be a huge step for solutions journalism in Europe. All the info will be revealed in the upcoming weeks. You can catch it in Above the Fold, or sign up to EJC's newsletter here!
|
|
|
Choose to Be Curious, a radio show and podcast hosted by Lynn Borton, explores "how curiosity shows up in work and in life." This very morning, the newest episode appeared, and on it you'll find SJN's Marie von Hafften discussing the curiosity that drives solutions journalism and how a solutions-focused approach can inspire the same in others. If you've got a nagging sense that journalism has become a bit less friendly to curiosity over the years (or need to jumpstart your own curiosity), listen to the episode.
|
|
|
Network News
- If you'd like another podcast fix, Flint Beat's Jiquanda Johnson and SJN's Alec Saelens joined LION Publishers' News Guest podcast to talk about raising revenue for your newsroom with solutions journalism.
- If that podcast got you thinking about revenue, Emily Stifler Wolfe's fantastic solutions-focused series on regenerative agriculture for Montana Free Press has been written up as a successful audience and revenue case study by NewsPack. Learn how they raised money and built new audiences with solutions journalism so you can too.
- The Journalist's Resource will host an extremely useful webinar on February 17 called "Using Academic Research to Keep Politicians Honest." Which, let's be real, is a great title.
- Pandemic distance got your newsroom feeling disengaged? jesikah maria ross and Olivia Henry of CapRadio published a really helpful explainer of how they are remaining connected, even to more remote communities.
- For IJNet, Journalist Abiodun Jamiu covered Solutions Journalism Africa Fellow Seun Durojaiye's efforts to teach solutions journalism in local African languages like Igbo and Hausa.
- KERA, the public broadcasting organization for Dallas/Fort Worth, is hiring a collaborations editor.
- The fabulous team at Documented (full disclosure: I used to work there) is hiring its first Caribbean correspondent.
- The team at Capital & Main is searching for a new editor-in-chief. It's a big job, but maybe it can be yours!
- The University of Arizona has a unique bilingual journalism Master's degree program, and they're accepting applications now. Bonus: it's led by the brilliant (and solutions-minded) Jessica Retis.
- Journalist Mary Hall has become NewsNation's in-house solutions journalism reporter. This is us celebrating her while encouraging your newsroom to do that too wink wink.
Want something included here? Just drop me a line: allen@solutionsjournalism.org
|
|
|
"Within a week of the story’s publication, more than $14,500 poured into the Diaper Bank of the Ozarks from readers in 14 states. Numerous others called to tell us they were donating to their local banks or to the National Diaper Bank Network. One artist let us know they were auctioning off six pieces, with the proceeds going to their local diaper bank in Austin.
The story also did something less tangible, which was to teach people about diaper need for the first time. Those are lessons that help motivate action, and that could maybe move the needle one day in undoing apathy. That’s what we all wish for with our stories, right? And for me, that’s the true magic of solutions journalism. It’s about empowering readers — giving them tools to help address a problem, not just learn about it."
- Chabeli Carrazana, The 19th
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
