All the ways we can connect

When it comes to trust or (as Heather Bryant likes to remind us) confidence in the value of information, journalists often focus almost exclusively on the quality and accuracy of that information. While that's essential and not something any serious journalist could turn their back on, we also can't forget the value of connection. People are far more likely to find info trustworthy when 1) they understand how it is valuable to them, and 2) they feel it's delivered with their best interests at heart.

We think solutions journalism has both: high-quality info with reported in a way that helps individuals and communities succeed. And to live that out ourselves, we also want to fill our newsletters with those traits. In this "How to SoJo," you'll see plenty of focus on that connection: how to build it, how others built it and how to bring it to your work. From reporting on love to listening differently to stories about effective cooperation, we hope you find something here you value.

In the Jan. 22 edition of Above the Fold, SJN's Nina Fasciaux kicks things off with info about her new book "Mal Entendus." It is a monument to listening, looping and connection. Her piece for the newsletter is a valuable reminder for us to forge meaningful relationships with — and listen deeply to — the world around us. After that comes a new grant opportunity focused on love from The Greater Good Science Center that could definitely use some solutions-minded reporters. Then you can learn about the extraordinary journalism work Daniel Nardin and Amaz?nia Vox are doing in the Amazon region. We wrap things up with Geetanjali Krishna , Sanne Breimer , and European Journalism Centre (EJC) who all have fantastic insights about building a solutions focus in your work. All of that is right here.

In the Jan. 29 edition, we start with a brand new climate solutions reporting guide from SJN's most recent cohort of Climate Solutions Fellows. But this isn't just a how-to: In addition to solid tips, each fellow shares a "win" that helped them think differently about the work. Then, get info on trainings from Covering Climate Now , a fellowship The Uproot Project , the newsletter SJN wrote for Henry Luce Foundation Inc , and science reporting tips from The Open Notebook and SciLine . This one is brimming with options.

Over at The Response, the Jan. 16 edition is a dispatch straight from Los Angeles, just after the fires had calmed. To understand what might come next, read Colleen Hagerty 's story of a solution that failed and how a divided community started to come together; @Carmen Kohlruss' Civil Eats story about the goats helping children connect with nature while preventing the next wildfire; and Stefan Labbé 's story of how Indigenous burning practices are getting results. Catch all those stories here.

The Response tackled health on Jan. 30. A few surprising initiatives have boosted it, and they go way beyond just diet and exercise. Elizabeth Hewitt covered Kansas City's free transit system; Sandra Cuffe's Positive News story introduces the Guatemalan women building holistic mental health approaches; and David Lyons explored how organizing helped build better health outcomes for waste pickers in Mexico. Find them all here.

Two Solutions Worth Sharing dispatches came out on Jan. 21. If you're in a democracy mood, Erin Rode covered the pop-up polling places helping those without homes vote. And if you're feeling climate-y, Jared Aarons takes you into San Diego's new composting plan, one that already saved more than 150,000 tons of food waste from the landfill and turned it into compost.