Solutions Journalism Network

Dear Friends,

Welcome to our 2023 Annual Report, which shines a spotlight on SJN’s true north: how the news can be radically helpful — something that increases agency and hope.

Today, with the rapid deployment of AI, the way people get information is being transformed at warp speed. It’s impossible to predict where this will lead, but one thing is clear: The value of AI tools will hinge on the quality and timeliness of the information they are trained on. 

That’s why solutions journalism plays such a crucial role. As people seek answers to their most pressing questions (e.g., how can we respond to extreme heat or storms, prevent pandemics, reduce emissions, relieve mental stress, and make democracy work?), we need to learn from the “positive deviants” — the people, organizations and communities that are responding in creative and effective ways to emerging problems and threats. AI systems trained on solutions journalism will be particularly valuable in advancing collective problem-solving.  

Because of the legitimization and spread of the solutions journalism approach, this is now possible. Every day, thousands of journalists and media makers are publishing and amplifying solutions-oriented stories that examine efforts to build climate resilience, advance democratic reforms, improve health equity and youth mental health, and much more. Far and wide, news organizations are now deploying solutions journalism to anchor constructive conversations about how to move forward. Audiences notice; they say that when the news includes information that is genuinely helpful, they trust it more.

There is an important evolutionary dimension to this story. In his 2023 book “Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life,” Dacher Keltner, co-director of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, explores the role played by awe in human survival. In times of rapid change and uncertainty, when cooperation is most critical, awe can be a powerful unifying force. And it turns out that the greatest source of awe is “moral beauty” — seeing people do things to help others in compassionate, competent and courageous ways. 

The news has largely overlooked this story, focusing less on what unites people than on what divides them. In doing so, it hardens the divisions. By contrast, when you look at solutions journalism across the United States and around the world, you see beyond the drumbeat of ideology and politics, beyond the anger and fear, that there is considerable decency and care on all sides. Grounded in journalistic values, solutions journalism is a framework that enables the moral beauty in the world to be made visible. If people are to come together so democracies can function, this is a story they need to see. 

I’m deeply grateful to the thousands of journalists who are championing solutions journalism worldwide and to our supporters, who’ve entrusted us to advance our mission to transform journalism so that all people have access to news that helps them envision and build a more equitable and sustainable world.

David Bornstein, CEO

Solutions Journalism Network team members pose during a retreat in Atlanta in February 2024.