Everybody needs somebody sometimes
Ups and downs. If there's a theme across this batch of newsletters, it's that. Maybe it's true in any industry, but the nature of journalism in particular means that plans are often like dandelions, destined to be blown to the winds. You'll see that here: Plenty of good stuff, but also the obstacles all of us face, not just as journalists but as people.
We hope, however, that you also see what's great about journalism in here — a commitment to inform people no matter what and curiosity that can't be stopped, for starters. And we hope you'll also see the value of having a community or network around you. Maybe that's the growing one around solutions journalism, but it doesn't have to be. Find the one that works for you. It's the only way to weather the winds.
In the October 9 Above the Fold, we covered the difficulties faced by journalists at WITF, Inc. and Haitian Times , both part of SJN's Building Democracy cohort. Each newsroom has faced surprising and sudden obstacles as the U.S. presidential election nears. Now they're doing their best to stand strong and keep delivering valuable information to their communities. After that, we shared a new opportunity from The Walkley Foundation for Journalism . Its new Solutions Journalism Fund has money for Australian newsrooms and journalists to do solutions reporting. Then, 纽约时报 launched a new feature in its Climate Forward newsletter. The Climate Fix will explore climate solutions, with an emphasis on how it's done and potential limitations. Plus, Next City announced its Equitable Cities Reporting Fellowship for Anti-Displacement Strategies. (Thanks Aysha Khan for sharing it with us!) And, IMS (International Media Support) released “Local Media: Surviving and Thriving in a News Desert,” a report offering lessons and case studies from efforts to combat news deserts in the EU. Get all of that here.
In the October 16 edition, J. Israel Balderas wrote a moving note from North Carolina, where he is pitching in on recovery and finding the value of constructive news in combatting mis/disinformation and bad actors. You'll see quickly that his words are from the heart. Next, SJN's Amy Maestas explained how your journalism group or news outlet can get a climate SoJo training from SJN's growing squad of accredited trainers. (Spoiler alert: It's pretty easy.) The European Journalism Centre (EJC) wrote about a gathering of solutions journalism ambassadors and what they discussed, from SoJo skepticism to prioritizing community needs. LION: Local Independent Online News Publishers has an awesome new job open, African Newspage hosted a climate SoJo training in Nigeria (complete with cool video), and we round it all out by re-upping Caitlin Myers ' indispensable, solutions-focused disaster reporting guide. Read the full edition.
The Solutions Africa newsletter is back! Now led by Caroline Karobia , it will be coming out monthly with updates from the rapidly blossoming network in Africa, centered thus far in Nigeria and Kenya, but growing elsewhere. She lays out all that's been happening in and around the Solutions Journalism Africa Initiative, which has nearly too many bits of news to list here: trainings from Science Africa and Nigeria Health Watch , wisdom from Chibuike Alagboso , the first Solutions Journalism Educator program in Africa convened by Rasheed Adebiyi, PhD, arpa and Jamiu Folarin , a new newsletter from The SolutionsPaper , fresh opportunities and more. If you want to tune into one of the most exciting and supportive SoJo communities around, get this newsletter!
And of course we need to share some solutions stories to round out your news diet. In the most recent edition of The Response, we talked disaster prevention and recovery. While inspired by hurricanes in the U.S., the stories go far beyond: You can learn about the concrete made from shellfish waste being piloted in England from Ayurella Horn-Muller ; the living shorelines battling erosion and floods on the east coast of the U.S. from Mike DiGirolamo ; and the amazing (if ongoing) recovery of Sri Lanka's wetlands from Zinara Rathnayake . Get all three in one convenient place.
In Solutions Worth Sharing, the democracy edition features what Wichita, Kansas can learn from the approach to homelessness practiced by San Antonio, Texas, with a story by Stefania Lugli . In the climate edition, find Rebecca Randall 's story about a community-led response to extreme weather in Puerto Rico: a "climate resilience hub."