Solutions Journalism Network: Impact

Impact Tracking: Why and What?

The mission of journalism – and solutions journalism – is to provide information that can help communities tackle problems big and small. Journalists and news organizations increasingly need and want to show how they’re living up to that goal to their communities, their shareholders or boards, and/or other financial supporters.

This Impact Tracker can help you – and us at the Solutions Journalism Network – better track a range of impact connected to solutions journalism, which we’ve broken down in categories of particular interest. It’s designed to facilitate the logging of examples that clearly show how reporting on responses to social issues can influence outcomes in society, your news organization and the wider industry. This is also a gateway to sharing your successes more broadly as SJN may publicly feature the information in our public database on solutionsjournalism.org/impact

Solutions journalism can be powerful! Help us understand and convey all the ways it’s making a difference.

Do you want more information on solutions journalism's key areas of impact?

For examples of impact, see our reports here.

Societal

Accountability and/or Institutional Change: Solutions coverage contributes to a change in policy, law or practice.

Cross-Pollination: Through solutions journalism, a community learns about something happening elsewhere, which sparks significant discussion and/or action.

Civic Discourse & Engagement: Solutions coverage leads to a change in public discourse around specific issues and/or action by community members.

Audience Engagement & Trust: Solutions coverage leads to increased engagement and/or trust between a community and a newsroom.

Organizational

Revenue: News organizations receive income from funders, readers and/or businesses related to solutions journalism projects, beats, sections, events, etc.

Practice change: A newsroom, college journalism program or other organization expands or deepens the quantity or quality of its solutions journalism.

Industry

Awards: Solutions coverage is recognized with a prestigious prize or award at a state or national level.

Organic spread: Newsrooms and other organizations establish new and significant solutions journalism projects without the financial support or training of the Solutions Journalism Network.

What happened? Record it below!

We invite you to share any important outcomes that solutions journalism helped bring about in an anecdote that clearly highlights the connection between the two. Please include what happened and when, who was involved and, if you know, why it happened. Please also tell us who we can contact if we need more information. Please also include links to the stories you’re referencing, plus any follow ups about the outcomes. You will receive an email with your information once you’ve submitted the anecdote.

First Name

Last Name

Your email address

Project Number (OPTIONAL) Note: If adding Project Number, please format it as P-XXXX

Name of newsroom or other organization connected to the impact

Media Type

Headline: What happened?

Tell us about the impact, being sure to explain the link between the solutions journalism and the outcome and information about who we should contact if we need more details.

Share links to the story or information that corroborates and illustrates your impact anecdote.

When did this impact happen?

Do we have your permission to publicize this impact?

Any attachments?

Thank you for sharing your insights with the Solutions Journalism Network. The intel you share helps us serve you better. We’re also on the hunt for anecdotes to share in trainings and newsletters for the Network. We’ll ask before we share any of the information here.

You will receive an email with a copy of what you submitted shortly.

Contact Information