#solutionsjournalism

[maternalfigures]

Solutions Journalism Fellowship FAQ’s

What is the Maternal Figures Solutions Journalism Fellowship

The Maternal Figures Solutions Journalism Fellowship is a fellowship open to Nigerian reporters and editors (living in Nigeria) who are interested in producing in-depth and rigorous reporting about maternal health interventions implemented in Nigeria and expanding the practice of solutions journalism within their newsrooms. 

How much financial support does the fellowship provide?

The fellowship currently provides a stipend, up to N150,000 to each reporter and editor selected.The stipend can be used to cover reporting costs, including travel, accommodation and the journalist’s time. The stipend is not payment for the production of the story/stories. We expect the publishing outlet to pay the selected journalists and editors for their work. However, in exceptional cases where a publication is willing to assign a story but is unable to pay for it, we may allow the grant to be used to cover the writer’s fee, if a reasonable explanation is provided. The stipend will be provided to the journalist in two installments - one at the beginning of the fellowship and the final installment will be provided after the story is published. 

What other support does the fellowship provide? 

The fellowship also offers editorial support. We can work with the journalist by teaching them how to use our database to access documents or additional information about the selected intervention or similar interventions. We also provide training on how to use solutions journalism to cover endemic issues. 

When is the application deadline for the fellowship? 

We accept applications on a rolling basis. But we do have deadlines to consider applications quarterly. To be considered for the April - June 2021 quarter, journalists must apply by February 26, 2021. 

What kind of stories are you looking for?

We’re looking for stories about the successes and failures of maternal health interventions implemented in Nigeria. Maternal health continues to be an endemic problem in the country, but governments, donors, and communities have come together to address the issue over the last three decades. We’re looking for rigorous stories that can answer the question: is this solution working, if so how? And if it’s not, why? In the past, we’ve funded stories that looked at the successes and shortcomings of Nigeria’s seven-year strategic plan to bring malaria related mortality to zero and a donor organization’s total market approach to saving the lives of pregnant women in Cross River state. 

How can I make my pitch stand out?

Make sure you’ve identified a solution

Make sure you understand what the solution is, how it’s being implemented and what are its goals are

Make sure your pitch includes all of the Solutions Journalism elements 

How can I find maternal health solutions to write about?

Check out our database, we have over 150! 

How can I apply?

Access the application here 

More questions? Email us at [email protected] 

[paulbradshaw]

Readers were asked whether they agreed that they could contribute to a solution to the struggles of the working poor and if there were effective ways to address the issue. In both cases, solutions readers expressed greater agreement than non-solutions readers. via https://engagingnewsproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/ENP-Solutions-Journalism-News-Engagement.pdf

[paulbradshaw]

Constructive Journalism: 

Did we run out of ‘simple’ problems?       

The main rationale for constructive journalism is its supposed potential to reduce mistrust. What people forget is that the world has been growing more complex for a long time. The term wicked problem was coined by Rittel in the mid-1960s. The ‘systems approach’ was developed by Churchman in the same period. Anybody who reads his books that were written half a century ago will notice how easy it is to map all our current problems (except perhaps global warming) on the problems he described and used as cases. One of the issues in the development of the systems approach is the objectivity-subjectivity problem. As reality becomes more complex, the truth about it becomes less clear. This doesn’t mean truth becomes irrelevant. People simply cannot do without truth and meaning. In the systems approach contrasting or conflicting perspectives bring out those aspects of the ‘truth’ that are most difficult to agree upon. With the right tools and attitude it is possible to hammer out an agreement on what the ‘intersubjective’ (i.e. common agreed upon) truth could be that makes sense to all (or most) parties.

 via https://csl4d.wordpress.com/2016/12/02/constructive-journalism/#more-2877

[paulbradshaw]

To be able to compare the results on Facebook, I published two different post versions to a similar number of Facebook groups which had similar numbers of members. This test is not completely accurate but it nevertheless revealed a significant difference in engagement. While 44 people clicked on the problem-oriented post link, 283 clicked on the solutions-orientend one (appendices 14 and 15). Also in terms of user comments I could observe a difference. While only one person commented on one of the problem-oriented posts (one other person provided a link), a lively discussion with several participants took place in reaction to two of the solutions-oriented Facebook posts (appendices16 and 17). I therefore think the claim that solutions journalism has the power to increase user engagement might be true.

[themoguls]

How solutions journalism can help news outlets deliver better stories by journalismnews http://ift.tt/1TOf40c

[raeellenb]

Finding solutions in a mire of bad news

Confession: For awhile, I stopped reading the news. As a journalist who has worked in news for the last few years -- and even participated in repeated conversations about how to get people engaged with the news -- that’s pretty embarrassing, not to mention a touch hypocritical. But I had overdosed on bad news. 

It happened after repeatedly steeping myself in the latest massacre, disaster, or disease. This message I came away with was: Lots of bad things happen in lots of places, and the people who have the power to fix those things are often corrupt or incompetent. But that message gets old. 

So, when I moved to Finland, I stopped reading the news and I decided to find stories about solving problems. 

This is a country where things work pretty well. Sure, then sun checks out for a good while, leaving everyone in the dark to grapple with Vitamin D problems and seasonal depression. But it comes back in full force to repay the debt in the summer. People aren’t chatty, but they’re honest. The buses are always on time. Primary education is top notch, income inequality is low, healthcare is cheap. Like any country, there could be improvements. But in general, Finland has its ducks in a straight-ish row. What can the world learn from this country? 

After a collective two years in Finland, here’s my growing list of specific success stories:

Getting girls excited about math

Effectively reducing heart disease

Making prison a place where people learn, and then leave

Getting rid of nuclear waste for good

Supporting mothers in work and life

Set a goal to reduce homelessness. Met it. Then set a new one.

The reaction is often “Wow. Could that work in another place, like the U.S.?” The answer is often “Maybe.” A lot of these successes were largely possible because of Finnish culture, which isn’t easily replicated. But I still think there are a lot of valuable lessons to take away. Hopefully someone will.

Unfortunately, a lot of news organizations are not interested in stories from Europe unless they are “urgent” (read: crisis, war, disaster). I think that’s a big problem. Piling the headlines with problems leaves people thinking about the world as a swampy pit of problems, rather than as an Ok place with potential. If they see only problems on the front page, how will they imagine solutions? 

[blairhickman-blog]

Q. What do you think are the stories the media have not covered that you would like to see more of? A. This is an urgent time to find ways to reduce health care costs without harming people at all – and it’s clearly possible. There are improvements in care that I am absolutely certain, not from my administration experience, but from my 30 years before, reduce expenses and improve care. I have not seen that grappled with in the way that it really needs to in the media. It’s a social necessity but it’s an important intellectual endeavor. Shannon Brownlee [at New America Foundation] has done a very good job. I don’t think the media has gotten into the more-is-better myth enough.

A doctor unwittingly suggests Solutions Journalism, in the Association of Health Care Journalists. This article by Atul Gawande is, I think, an example of what he's talking about.