Medill Midwest Solutions Journalism Hub

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Medill Midwest Solutions Journalism Hub

The Medill Midwest Solutions Journalism Hub seeks to support and amplify your journalistic efforts by investing in a storytelling approach that covers what works, or can through solutions journalism. The Hub is a bold, new effort in transforming the way we cover communities through a rigorous approach proven to engage audiences. An outgrowth of outreach efforts by Solutions Journalism Network (SJN), the Midwest-based Hub joins universities invested in this transformational practice.

The Hub is part of the Medill Local News Initiative with the goal of reinventing the relationship between news organizations and audiences to elevate enterprises that empower citizens.

What is Solutions Journalism?

Solutions journalism breaks the pattern of simply reporting on systemic issues to focus on responses to those issues one slice at a time. Through consistent coverage of responses, journalists are able to produce bodies of work showcasing what is being done to address society’s most pressing challenges. These insights and resources help to mitigate news avoidance and the trust deficit that vexes our industry. This comprehensive shift in framing completes the work we are charged to do in fully informing the public, and the method enhances audience engagement and deepens the relationship between audience members and news outlets.

Four Pillars of Solutions Journalism

Response

Focuses on a response to a social problem — and on how that response has worked, or why it hasn’t. If the response is worth featuring, it’s worth its own story. The practice focuses on systemic responses, not kind acts by an individual or group.

Evidence

Provides data or qualitative results that indicate effectiveness (or a lack thereof). Aren’t results what make the story newsworthy?

Insights

Shows what can be learned from a response and why it matters. What can we show that others can learn from, fulfilling our mission to serve society?

Limitations

Place responses in context; doesn’t shy away from revealing shortcomings. Make the story journalism by examining the response and any shortcomings, not promoting it.

Programs

Summer Summit

Person presenting at an easel.

Every summer, the Medill Midwest Solutions Journalism Hub invites journalists, storytellers and media professionals to participate in a transformative day of exploring solutions journalism and urgent topics in the field. Called the Summer Summit— this one-day immersion includes learning, collaborative problem-solving and dialogues dedicated to strengthening journalism's impact. The event features thought leaders who share best practices and impact metrics to power the next generation of storytelling.

Project Support

Two women dressed professionally.

With support from the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, the Hub awarded four Chicago-area news outlets with project funding to deepen their commitment to solutions journalism. Awardees of this pilot project are Block Club Chicago, Borderless Magazine, City Bureau and Cicero Independiente. Each organization submitted a project plan that will enable them to build on existing coverage of responses to systemic social problems and highlight interventions that work or might. Award recipients receive specialized training, coaching, expertise and resources from the Hub.

Solutions journalism is the missing piece of the reporting puzzle.Deborah Douglas
Senior Lecturer and Director of Midwest Solutions Journalism Hub, Medill School

As we investigate problems in our society, if we are not also thinking about solutions, about possible ways to solve those problems and improve people's lives, we may be missing a chance to perform a vital public service.John Diedrich
Investigative Reporter, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

As we investigate problems in our society, if we are not also thinking about solutions, about possible ways to solve those problems and improve people's lives, we may be missing a chance to perform a vital public service.Damaso Reyes
Executive and Investigative Editor, New York Amsterdam News

Journalism has a responsibility to nurture the public.Matt Thompson
Editor, Headway at The New York Times

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes Medill different?: Medill’s Midwest Solutions Journalism Hub is outward-facing: We’re facilitating change in our regional media ecosystem by inviting news outlets and institutions of higher learning into training and community. Together we will learn and refine the practice of solutions journalism and measure its impact.
What does the experience involve?: The short answer: Training. Impact. Community. Medill offers, free of charge, access to training in the solutions journalism approach. We will work with you to measure the impact of your outlet’s application of solutions journalism. And we build community among outlets in the region to share best practices and big ideas through a newsletter, social media content, and virtual and in-person events.
What will journalists learn?: They learn how to follow this rigorous reporting and engagement method from planning and reporting to editing and engagement. The steps involve covering responses to pressing social challenges, surfacing the evidence of the response, and exploring insights and limitations.
What’s so special about that?: Solutions journalism is a transformational practice, if done right. Traditional practices often reward defining problems over all else, leaving audiences demoralized and our job of delivering useful information incomplete. Reframing stories to prioritize solutions or possible responses to issues such as public safety, education access, climate change, etc., requires focus. We can gain a lot by dissecting successful solutions stories and those that masquerade as solutions but are thinly veiled attempts lacking depth.
How much time does this take?: The first module, an introduction to solutions journalism, takes about four hours. This training can be done online or in-person.

The second session addresses solutions journalism story imposters, and invites participants to audit and discuss their progress. This two- to three-hour module may cover engagement, and how to produce photography and illustrated concepts through a solutions lens.

The third module engages experts at Good Conflict in honing interviewing/listening skills to produce high-impact stories using solutions journalism, conflict mediation and social psychology storytelling methods. Skills developed in this series of four sessions cultivate curiosity, help journalists navigate conflict and generate hope.

The Hub explores other topics and engages industry experts as needed. We recognize finding time for continuing education is challenging, but we are invested in being flexible on the journey to transform journalism.
What about impact?: It turns out solutions journalism produces results in several ways, according to SJN research. Audience members who read a solutions story are more likely to return to the site, and readers of solutions stories are more likely to show up in page views.

Revenue-wise, outlets have generated results in grants, major donors, sponsorships/advertising and reader revenue. We see impact in many areas: accountability and institutional change; audience engagement and trust; revenue; practice change; and public discourse and engagement. The Hub will work with you to measure the impact that matters to you.
Where does community come in?: Our newsletter, The Hub: Solutions journalism that explores what works – or can is our vehicle for sharing best practices, outcomes and challenges.By sharing the story of how you do your work, we hope to facilitate greater media literacy and trust. We sincerely believe in meeting audiences where they live and thrive.
How much does this cost again?: We can thank Robert R. McCormick Foundation for funding efforts to transform the local news ecosystem so we can provide this experience free of charge, allowing your own investment of time, curiosity and execution to pay off.

We’ve experienced what happens when misinformation, disinformation and news deserts flourish unfettered: As industry leaders committed to a free press, the Hub is one of many efforts on behalf of The Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University to invest in journalism that benefits communities from the block level to the highest levels of society’s institutions.

The Hub is part of the Medill Local News Initiative, a research and development project aimed at strengthening the local news ecosystem in Chicago and the United States. In all things, Medill aims for the highest potential for excellence.
How can my newsroom join?: That’s easy. Just email Deborah Douglas, director, Medill Midwest Solutions Journalism Hub, at deborah.douglas@northwestern.edu.

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