Medill Hub Launches Rapid Response Toolkit for Solutions-Oriented Crisis Coverage

New resource guides journalists in providing actionable community reporting during emergencies

EVANSTON, ILL. -- The Medill Solutions Journalism Hub at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications has released a comprehensive Rapid Response Kit designed to help newsrooms deliver response-driven coverage during community crises.

Titled The Fire Next Time, the toolkit uses Chicago’s ongoing federal immigration enforcement operations as a case study to demonstrate how journalists and storytellers can provide context, analysis and actionable information serving communities in their most vulnerable moments.

“When federal immigration agents hit the streets of Chicago, we witnessed local media organically tilt its reporting to cover the community response to this federal action,” says Deborah Douglas, Hub director and Medill faculty member. “Response-driven coverage is the essence of solutions journalism, and it is a model that can be applied to crises across the nation.”

The toolkit is informed by original research conducted in November by the Hub. News, Safety and Trust: Understanding How Chicago Communities Use Information During ICE Actions by John Volk, of the Medill Local News Initiative, analyzes a week in the life of 1,068 Chicago residents. Their answers revealed that fear of federal immigration agents may be influencing public safety decisions in Chicago, particularly among Latino residents and residents in 14 target ZIP codes hardest hit by the crackdown.

The proportion of Latino respondents avoiding public spaces at any point in the last week due to the nearby presence of ICE was 64%. And the proportion of Latino survey takers avoiding public spaces “often” or “always” in the last week due to the nearby presence of ICE was 30%. Overall, respondents reported being broadly trusting of a range of information sources, and they value alternative sources for both their perceived speed and accuracy.

Rather than simply documenting what went wrong or repeating official sources, the solutions journalism approach helps reporters identify who’s responding, what’s working and how similar challenges might be addressed in the future. The kit is available at the Local News Initiative website, and downloadable as a PDF or viewable as an online scrollytelling experience.

Key Toolkit Features:

• Four foundational pillars of solutions journalism that guide journalists through the rapid-response process.
• Operational strategies drawn from actual newsroom experiences that can be implemented immediately.
• Research backed insights from News, Safety and Trust: Understanding How Chicago Communities Use Information During ICE Actions, analyzed by John Volk, research associate at the Medill Local News Initiative.
• Adaptable framework applicable to various crisis scenarios, from natural disasters to social unrest to public health emergencies.