Bad News Isn't the Whole Story

On the Media | May 11, 2017

Some years ago, journalist Tina Rosenberg pitched a story to an editor about the burden of AIDS and the high cost of drugs in Africa, and she got a familiar response: "It's too depressing." So she went looking for a new approach, and discovered that Brazil was successfully tackling similar problems. By framing the story through the lens of a solution, rather than solely a problem, Rosenberg was able to convince her editor... and write a more powerful piece. The experience led her to apply this strategy to numerous stories that might otherwise have been deemed "too depressing," and, in 2013, co-found the Solutions Journalism Network. Now, she trains newsrooms to incorporate solutions into all kinds of reporting, from poverty in Tennessee to sea level rise in Louisiana. She talks with Brooke about why journalists fear reporting on what works, how stories about responses to problems can prompt action, and how solutions journalism might help restore public trust in the media.

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A Ride With Polly Jean by Jenny Scheinman

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