54 News Outlets with Dedicated Solutions Journalism Sections
Locally and internationally, in print and in video, these news outlets are doing solutions journalism on the regular.
In 2010, David Bornstein and Tina Rosenberg launched the first of the New York Times “Fixes” series: “Welcome to Fixes. This is a series about solutions, or potential solutions, to real world problems. It focuses on the line between failure and success, drawing on the stories of people who have crossed it.”
A decade later, dozens more news outlets have launched their own solutions journalism series or verticals — and those are only the ones we know about. From California to Costa Rica, 54 news outlets now dedicate a beat, vertical, or — sometimes — their entire coverage to rigorous solutions reporting. And while not every story from these outlets meets our SJ criteria, here are some of our faves that consistently do.
NOTE: This list was last updated on June 2, 2021. Have a recommendation for a publication we should add? Email juliah[at]solutionsjournalism[dot]org.
1. BBC: “People Fixing the World” + “My Perfect Country” + “Crossing Divides” + “Future Planet”
From clips on second-hand shopping malls in Sweden to life-saving “cervical selfies” in Namibia, the folks at BBC People Fixing the World stay true to their mission: meeting “people with ideas to make the world a better place”, and investigating whether they work. With “My Perfect Country” and — more recently — “Crossing Divides” and “Future Planet” in the mix, BBC continues to be a key provider in showing “what’s working” around the world.
2. POLITICO Magazine: “What Works” + “What Works Next”
In 2018, POLITICO Magazine launched their “What Works” series to explore “innovative ideas from cities across the United States,” from a Houston-based health app preventing flood damage to Baltimore’s after-school program growing tech gurus. In 2019, they launched season 2: “What Works Next” — a look at Millennials’ unique generational responses to societal problems.
3. The Seattle Times: “Education Lab” + “Traffic Lab” + “Project Homeless”
One of the first, one of the best — “Education Lab” is a comprehensive collection of “promising approaches to persistent challenges in public education”, helping “parents, students and educators to drive innovative solutions.” And after The Seattle Times found EdLab moved the needle on education policy (and saw revenue successes too), the newsroom launched two other solutions verticals :“Traffic Lab” and “Project Homeless”.
4. “How Do We Fix It?”
In this “repair manual for the real world,” dynamic duo Richard Davies and Jim Meigas ask, plain and simple: “How Do We Fix It?” Some of our faves from the weekly podcast include a civility workshop in Iowa and an attempt to facilitate difficult conversations in Minnesota.
5. “Finding Fixes”
For this independent podcast of Investigate West, “fixes” takes on two meanings: solutions journalism stories, and (specifically) solutions to the opioid epidemic. In “Finding Fixes”, producers Anna Boiko-Weyrauch and Kyle Norris explore everything from Naxolone to professional hand-holders.
6. The New York Times: “Fixes”
We couldn’t mention the F-word without re-mentioning NYT, too! Since 2010, the New York Times “Fixes” column has explored “solutions to social problems and why they work.” With hundreds of weeks of “what’s working” under its belt, NYT “Fixes” continues to set the bar for beacon solutions journalism.
7. Fast Company: “Impact”
At Fast Company, where SJN prez Keith Hammonds was former executive editor, solutions journalism is in their DNA (just check their stories in the Solutions Story Tracker™ to show for it). In their Impact section, they make that mission clear: exploring “the big ideas that are changing the world.”
8. Boston Globe: “Things That Work”
A model to swim in the Charles River. Trauma groups that offer healing. An ordinance to stop bears from digging through garbage. These are just three of the “Things That Work” in the The Boston Globe’s solution-focused vertical.
9. Philadelphia Citizen: “Ideas we Should Steal”
In showing what excellent “apples to apples” solutions journalism looks like, The Philadelphia Citizen’s “Ideas We Should Steal” series highlights which “organizations, projects, programs in different cities would be good for Philadelphia.” This past November, they turned that series into an event — hosting a daylong festival to hear about 10 bold ideas from the vertical and vote on which to fund.
10. The Montgomery Advertiser: “SoJo MGM”
About 1,000 miles south of Philly, The Montgomery Advertiser is also on the prowl for ideas to steal for its readers. The latest from “SoJo MGM” explores how pinwheels and Play-Doh could address post-tornado trauma in Lee County.
11. Montana Free Press: “Long Streets”
For a state described as “one big small town with really long streets”, Montana, too, is in search of great ideas — particularly those that boost economic opportunity. In Long Streets, Montana Free Press does just that, with the latest story investigating whether Vermont’s plan to pay college grads to move there would work well in Montana.
12. NBC News: “Reviving Detroit”
To show that great SJ happens in broadcast, too, the folks at NBC News have a new series on “Reviving Detroit”. In it, they tell “stories of revitalization”, from neighborhoods fighting blight to programs that employ convicted felons. Check the trailer here!
13. Alaska Public Media: “Solutions Desk”
The largest state in the U.S is also one of the largest regional solutions journalism providers. At Alaska Public Media’s “Solutions Desk”, you’ll find “community-driven reporting on people & programs solving Alaska’s problems.”
14. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “Wisconsin Ideas Lab”
As Greg Borowoski of MJS explains, “we’ve got a long history at Milwaukee Journal Sentinel of trying to find things that are working.” So strong, in fact, that when MJS lead the way in replacing their opinions section with solutions journalism, 11 other Gannett papers in Wisconsin followed. In that MJS section — dubbed “Ideas Lab” — the paper explores everything from the power of fruits and veggies to heroin injection sites.
15. The Hechinger Report: “Solutions”
One of SJN’s most consistent providers of excellent education coverage is The Hechinger Report solutions vertical. Appropriately called “Solutions”, the deeply researched and rigorously edited section covers what’s being done to fix problems in education, and “whether those solutions are working and can be replicated.”
16. City Lab: “Solutions”
With more than one hundred stories in the Solutions Story Tracker™, CityLab is a prolific producer of what’s working. Their “Solutions” section is filled with fresh ideas making design, transportation, the environment, equity, and life at large better.
17. bioGraphic: “Solutions”
Powered by the California Academy of Sciences, bioGraphic’s Solutions explores “the most promising new technologies, tools, and ideas for addressing our planet’s greatest sustainability challenges.” Sometimes, that’s investigating how wild foods are promoting deforestation in the Amazon. Others, it’s exploring how tracking dogs are combatting poaching in Tanzania.
18. The Richland Source: “Solutions”
As one of the newsrooms most successful at turning solutions journalism into revenue, The Richland Source regularly delivers “rigorous, responsible work that has a viable impact on [their] community.” From “Rising from Rust” to “Gray Matters”, their “Solutions” collections consistently score an A++.
19. New Hampshire Union Leader: “Silver Linings” + “Beyond the Stigma” + “What’s Working””
Another newsroom that’s successfully fundraised for SJ? New Hampshire Union Leader. Through philanthropic support, the state’s largest daily is paving the way for funding and producing issue-based SJ. Currently, that’s happened in two series: “Silver Linings,” which looks at effective responses to aging issues, “Beyond the Stigma” which explores what’s working in the realms of substance abuse and mental health. And as of 2020, they now have a regular SJ vertical called “What’s Working”.
20. Apolitical
With a hundred plus stories in the Solutions Story Tracker™, Apolitical joins the hundred plus club as one of SJN’s most consistent solutions journalism producers. Described as a global network for public servants, Apolitical stays true to its mission: to “find the ideas, people and partners they need to solve the hardest challenges facing our societies.” Check out our FB live with editor Josh Lowe, here!
21. NationSwell
Whether it’s Denver paying homeless residents to clean the city or Chicago’s unlikely bond between teens and vets, NationSwell covers it all — championing “solutions to America’s problems, and the people making them happen.”
22. Christian Science Monitor
If you’ve taken our 101 webinar, you know that we love SJ from the Christian Science Monitor. With more than one hundred stories in the Solutions Story Tracker™, CSM consistently “recognizes that news is more than facts,” and ensures its coverage tells “the story of how we are each trying to make our homes, communities, and nations better.” And as of 2020, they’ve branded the thing: “Monitor Solutions”.
23. YES! Magazine
Another magazine we love? YES! Magazine. Defined as “journalism for people building a better world,” the longform publication has covered everything from cities making food access a citizenship right, to shelters giving homeless people long-term jobs.
24. Positive News
Don’t let the name fool you — Positive News goes way beyond feel-good stories — exploring system-changing ideas like prescribing produce, peer-to-peer ed, and a library of things.
25. Ensia
Solutions journalism is also baked into the mission statement of Ensia — an acronym for “environmental solutions in action”. Some of those ‘ensias’ include bacteria that removes water contaminants and Taiwan’s tricks for making recycling mainstream.
26. La Voz de Guanacaste
Six months ago, the folks at La Voz de Guanacaste in Costa Rica committed their pub to solutions journalism. Since adopting the ‘howdunnit’ approach, the publication has covered how a community saved endangered turtles, how cell phones help manage emergency responses and how free clinics are filling a health care void for minors in Carrillo.
27. Next City
With hundreds of stories in the Solutions Story Tracker™, Next City knows that “inspiring better cities” means an eye towards solutions, whether that’s the young people rebuilding Tulsa’s Black wall street, or the states making energy efficiency the norm.
28. Resolve Philly: “Re-entry Project” + “Broke in Philly”
“Telling stories. Evaluating solutions.” That’s the tagline behind Resolve Philadelphia — the award-winning, 22 news organization collaborative committed to solutions journalism. In 2017, that collaborative took on responses to challenges of recidivism in “The Re-entry Project”. 2018 saw SJ covering economic mobility solutions via “Broke in Philly”. The focus of 2019? Stay tuned!
29. Granite State News Collaborative: “Solutions”
Solutions reporting also pulses through the Granite State News Collaborative, where the “Solutions” series launched just before the 2019 new year. Focused on multimedia reporting around mental health, the collaborative is committed to “finding out what’s working, what’s not, what the evidence is and who’s accountable when it comes to behavioral health.”
30. The Marshall Project
To find excellent SJ focused on the justice beat, we love The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news org that “establishes facts, exposes failures and examines solutions for a criminal justice system in crisis.” Among their consistently excellent solutions journalism are deep dives behind why juvenile curfews fails and which bail reforms succeed.
31. Vox: “Future Perfect”
When Dylan Matthews introduced this Vox vertical, he saw “Future Perfect” as an extension of the outlet’s larger mission: to write about “what’s important, not just what’s new.” In practice, that looks like “ways to do a lot of good at low cost” — like how Norway designed a more humane prison, or how South Carolina is successfully fighting infant mortality.
32. Shareable
Shareable recognizes how “people-powered solutions for the common good” are often magnified through a simple act: sharing them. To date, we’ve seen five examples of those shared solutions in action — from new-age libraries in the U.S to an inclusive digital cooperative in Indonesia.
33. The Guardian: “The Upside”
When the UK’s most trusted newspaper made an ongoing commitment to cover “answers, solutions, movements and initiatives to address the biggest problems besetting the world”, we were psyched. The Guardian’s weekly “Upside” vertical digs deep into solutions stories, exploring questions like why the Netherlands has so few prisoners, or what Denmark’s “children’s homes” can teach Britain.
34. Things That Work Uganda
In summer 2019, 2020 LEDE fellow and solutions journalism super star of Uganda, Abaas Mpindi, launched a website to cover “things that work” to address his home country’s most intractable issues. So far, Things That Work has covered solutions such as interlocking soil bricks to cotton as a cash crop.
35. High Country News: “What Works”
Over the years, HCN has become a sort of SJN BFF — with plenty of solutions stories to show for it. Recently, they sealed the deal by premiering a new vertical — “What Works” — to explicitly cover, well, what works…. especially on issues surrounding climate change.
36. Reasons to Be Cheerful
In case you needed more reason to love David Byrne, his latest nonprofit editorial project is — as its name suggests — all about solutions. Committed to “sharp reporting that balances healthy optimism with journalistic rigor”, RTBC has SJ in their DNA — reporting on things like Portugal’s successful campaign to drive down drug use, or a New York-based program that uses music (what else!) to help mothers and their babies bond.
37. Mongabay: “Environment and Her”
With dozens of solutions stories to show for it, Mongabay has long been key producer of globally-minded solutions journalism. In their “Environment and Her” series spearheaded by 2020 LEDE fellow Sahana Ghosh, the SJ is taking a new twist — covering solutions by and for women, like the cyclone-affected community that started a resilience fund or the locals who saved their lake.
38. GRIST: “The Fix”
“A planet that doesn’t burn and a future that doesn’t suck?” Sign me up. That’s GRIST’s famous tagline, and in “The Fix” — the news outlet’s “solutions lab”, you can read up on everything from the school getting kids fired up about climate change to BYOB shampoo bottle shops.
39. INKLINE
With hubs of practice all around the world, INKLINE defines itself as “a source of inspiration and motivation for emerging adults across the globe who are out there in search of meaningful, solutions-focused, and impactful stories.” The outlet has already published gems on sustainable fashion and miscarriage trauma, and will soon dig deep on climate solutions through the vision of 2020 LEDE fellow , Julia Migné.
40. Making Contact
As a “29-minute weekly magazine/documentary-style public affairs program heard on 140 radio stations in the USA, Canada, South Africa and Ireland,” Making Contact has won awards up the wazoo. Why? We think it’s got something to do with their mission — to “analyze critical social and environmental issues and showcases grassroots solutions.” By our count, these run the gamut from “Pollution Solutions” to what’s working to support “Parenting from Prison.”
41. Médiacités
This french pure-player focuses on local investigation in four french cities : Lyon, Nantes, Lille & Toulouse. After SJN gave the newsroom a training in 2018, they launched a solutions vertical, and have a dozen solutions stories published so far. The Collectif Antidotes, run by two Médiacités journalists based in Toulouse, also promotes SoJo and organizes events with the readers to discuss the solutions they have reported on.
42. The Trace “How We Fix This”
SJN has long-loved The Trace. With dozens of solutions stories to show for it, the outlet has done some of the most rigorous reporting on viable gun violence solutions. In “How We Fix This” — their latest investigative project, The Trace names these goals plainly — shining light on the “growing body of evidence show[ing] that there are existing interventions that can save lives right now.”
43. Imagine, demain le monde
Since it was created back in 1996, this print-only Belgian slow-press magazine has been a pioneer in solutions journalism. Imagine has been distributed in France since 2017 and we love the tone — rigorous, modest, and non-prescriptive.
44. Nice-Matin
Launched in 2015, the solutions-oriented vertical of the French media group Nice-Matin is a tremendous success. Over three years, through providing monthly reports on a particular topic, the regional publication has seen a 600% increase in subscribers, and its readers spend an average of 7 minutes on each solutions story (versus 2 minutes spent on non- solutions stories). Their solutions videos have also garnered nearly 15 millions views on Facebook.
45. Washington Post “Climate Solutions”
The Washington Post made headlines when it decided to create a series focused on “the people and organizations focused on tackling global warming.” Aptly named “Climate Solutions,” the series has dug into everything from the future of solar-powered cars to smarter cooling systems.
46. Transitions Online
Through the passion and dedication of 2020 LEDE fellow Lucie Cerna, Jeremy Druker, and the hundreds of journalists they’ve trained along the way, solutions journalism has found itself a home at Transitions Online, the premiere community and news-outlet in Central and Eastern Europe reporting on what’s working. Check out their many solutions stories, here!
47. Minority Africa
Minority Africa aims to “counter the misrepresentation, underrepresentation, and often no representation at all of African minority groups and individuals in mainstream media” by offering “solutions content,” reads the mission statement of the publication, founded in 2019 by 2020 LEDE Fellow, Caleb Okereke. Their stories cover everything from online support groups for pregnant women to the homeschooling efforts creating equity in education.
48. Nigeria Health Watch
Through the leadership of 2020 LEDE Fellow Chibuike Alagboso, Nigeria Health Watch has become one of the country’s finest examples of rigorous solutions-focused reporting. Aiming to “amplify some of the great work happening in the health sector, challenge the bad, and create a space for positive ideas and actions,” the outlet’s many dozens of solutions stories speak for themselves.
49. HotHouse Solutions
“There is no one solution to climate change. But there are many,” reads the mission statement of HotHouse, a climate journalism newsletter founded by 2020 LEDE Fellow Michael Coren and partner Jemima Kiss. Those solutions have run the gamut from climate-retrofitted-townhouses to an Instagram-army fighting litter.
50. News48
Italy has found a solutions journalism haven in News48, the country’s dedicated solutions journalism outlet and community. Founded by 2021 LEDE Fellow Assunta Corbo, the outlet has covered everything from crowdsourced efforts to reduce food waste to trainings for unemployed youth.
51. What’s Next Magazine
After reckoning with crises of police brutality, America wants to know: “What’s next?” That’s exactly what What’s Next Magazine covers by rigorously reporting on alternatives to policing, under the guidance of 2021 LEDE Fellow Angelica Cabral.
52. Lithuania Radio and Television (LRT)
The largest media group in Lithuania, Lithuania Radio and Television is making solutions journalism part of its “fundamental mission to serve the public, and — among other goals — “unite Lithuanian society by promoting civic participation and communal solidarity.” Guided by 2021 LEDE Fellow Justina lkeviciute, the outlet has covered solutions spanning everything from preserving endangered birds to promoting school attendance through rap.
53. America First?
What can America from other countries to make its economy stronger and fairer? That’s the goal of America First?, a YouTube channel founded by 2021 LEDE Fellow Ali-Ashgar Abedi, exploring solutions like better childcare and lower prescription drug costs.
54. El Colectivo 506
Three friends and mothers and lovers of community journalism teamed up to create El Colectivo 506, a treasure trove of slow, solutions-focused journalism. Their solutions stories look at what’s working by-and-for communities in Costa Rica.
Hey freelancers — some of these publications want solutions pitches from you! For full access to them, register for the Hub here (free!)
