Seeing Beyond the Problem: How Solutions Journalism Can Empower Your Worldview
Photo: Thirdman via Pexels · Pexels License A report about a failing public service can tell us something essential. It can expose a gap between what people need and what an institution provides. But once the problem is clear, I sometimes find myself wanting another part of the story: has anybody tried to address it? That question does not cancel the first. It follows it. I wrote about solutions journalism when this blog was quite new. Looking back, I think I was trying to describe why the second question interested me. I did not want journalism to become more comforting. I wanted it to reveal more of what was actually happening. Showing what is wrong is necessary. Asking what has been tried may make the account more complete. A response is part of the story Take a hypothetical report about a long waiting list. The first questions might be how many people are waiting, how long they wait and what explains the delays. Those are important ...