Solutions journalism is getting better and more accessible

It's hard for us at SJN to reach current or potential audiences. We're an industry organization, and aside from "Got milk?" and the National Rifle Association, it's rare for an industry organization to really move consumers. If a restaurant showed you the pasta they make, it would look delicious and you might want to eat some. If some restaurant trade group told you to eat more pasta, you'd probably ask, "Who are you again?" The same is true with news.

Really strong solutions reporting seems to be getting more and more common, along with more tips for perfecting it, more training, more multimedia projects ... It's heartening! We're nowhere near critical mass, but growth seems to happen in waves, and right now feels like a big one. You'll see a lot of this running through this latest batch of our newsletters — more great stories, with more opportunities for journalists to create their own and more opportunities for audiences to find them.

The Aug. 21 edition of Above the Fold starts with a question: What if the people in our stories felt like they were a part of something beautiful and special? You'd think that's plenty for any newsletter right? But we didn't stop. After that came Nneka Chile writing about solutions journalism's relevance in Africa, Julia Métraux 's new guide for covering how disabled and chronically ill people build community online, Hugo Balta covering how solutions journalism can help meet people's election info needs, and a job with LION: Local Independent Online News Publishers . Grab that edition right here.

One of the ways we've helped make solutions journalism more accessible is with our Train-the-Trainers program. A small army of SoJo trainers around the world has now been accredited, and we have another round now open. This one is U.S.-specific, but more rounds are always coming. Then we are teaming up with Terra.do for three climate primers (first one's over but there's still time for the others), and journalist Ashli Blow created a beautiful and concise guide for understanding and covering climate policy — especially with solutions in mind. Katherine Long has a great idea for your past solutions reporting (go revisit it), and The National Alliance to End Homelessness and Emilie Stigliani have a session set up to help you cover homelessness. Plus, Ingeborg Vigerust Rangul looked at how constructive and solutions reporting can inform trade union journalism. You're going to miss all that? Definitely not.

For your story needs, get those headphones ready. In the Aug. 22 edition of The Response, we shared the new collaborative podcast from The Marshall Project and Tradeoffs , covering the creation of an alternative response team in Durham, North Carolina. These teams step in when police might not be the most effective approach. The two outlets go in-depth on how those teams work, how the city approaches it, what's effective and what isn't. If you care about mental health and public safety, don't miss this.

Then, journalist Carla Rosch and European Journalism Centre (EJC) have released a podcast as well. On "Behind the Solutions," Carla digs into six fascinating solutions journalism stories, including learning more about the stories from the journalists themselves. Carla generously wrote about the process for the Sept. 5 edition.

With many elections happening around the world this year, democracy (or concern for it) is in the air. Solutions Worth Sharing has been covering more democratic approaches to health, so drop in to read about the promising success of health engagement hubs in Washington from Lauren Gallup , or discover how Rural Emergency Hospitals respond to the dark history of closing hospitals in Black communities, courtesy of Aallyah Wright .

Over on the climate side, don't miss how elementary school kids are learning about food waste in an interactive way , or the innovative social enterprise that fights youth unemployment and strengthens local marine ecosystems, courtesy of a beautiful multimedia story from Carla Parks .

Well, that's plenty to read and plenty to think about. Dig in, subscribe, and stay tuned. A whole lot is happening in the next couple weeks ...