Engaging Communities Through Solutions Journalism

8/18/2019 Engaging Communities Through Solutions Journalism

1/27


2/27

0

1

2

2.1

3

4

5

6

7

8

Table of Contents

Introduction

Executive Summary

Introduction

Can News Be Good?

Methods

Research Findings

Recommendations and Conclusions

Appendix

Footnotes

Citations

Engaging Communities Through Solutions Journalism

2


3/27

Authors: Andrea Wenzel, Daniela Gerson and Evelyn Moreno

Substantive local news is a rare commodity in many communities across the United States.

In areas with high levels of violence, crime, and poverty, a history of stigmatization can

further compound this absence. Often the only local news available is negative.

This report explores potential impacts of local solutions journalism, particularly for

underrepresented and stigmatized communities. Solutions journalism explores responses to

systemic social problems—critically examining problem solving efforts that have the potential

to scale.

Proponents of this genre of journalism believe these types of stories offer a pathway to

engaging audiences. Preliminary research suggests readers of solutions-oriented stories are

more likely to share articles and seek related information.

However, little research has explored solutions journalism at the local level or in stigmatized

communities. This study attempts to address that gap. In follow-up to a community-based

media project in South Los Angeles, six focus groups with forty-eight African-American and

Latino residents examined how participants responded to the solutions journalism format.

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to the Tow Center for Digital Journalism—and, in particular, Claire Wardle and

Pete Brown—for the support and thoughtful feedback. The project would not have been

possible without the collaboration of Dr. Sandra Ball-Rokeach and the researchers of theMetamorphosis Project at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for

Communication and Journalism, who devoted considerable time and resources to

conducting focus groups. Thanks also to our South Los Angeles community partners,

including the Coalition for Responsible Community Development, Community Services

Unlimited, Esperanza Community Housing, All Peoples Community Center, Community

Health Councils, Community Coalition, and Trust South LA. Thanks to our media partners,

including KPCC, Hoy, La Opinión, the Los Angeles Sentinel, Southwest Wave, and

Intersections South LA. Finally, thanks to the Solutions Journalism Network for sharing input

on its research to date and our project design.

April 2016


3Introduction


4/27

Executive Summary

Substantive local news is a rare commodity in many communities across the United States.

In areas with high levels of violence, crime, and poverty, a history of stigmatization can

further compound this absence. Often the only local news available is negative.

This report explores potential impacts of local solutions journalism, particularly for

underrepresented and stigmatized communities. Solutions journalism explores responses to

systemic social problems—critically examining problem solving efforts that have the potential

to scale.

Proponents of this genre of journalism believe these types of stories offer a pathway to

engaging audiences. Preliminary research suggests readers of solutions-oriented stories are

more likely to share articles and seek related information.

However, little research has explored solutions journalism at the local level or in stigmatized

communities. This study attempts to address that gap. In follow-up to a community-based

media project in South Los Angeles, six focus groups with forty-eight African-American and

Latino residents examined how participants responded to the solutions journalism format.

The study’s findings illustrate how residents navigate and critically interpret mainstream local

coverage, often using alternative digital sources to cross-check stories and seek other information. Its results also suggest that these residents would respond positively to

solutions journalism—though participants’ enthusiasm may be tempered by larger concerns

regarding structural inequalities. Focus group participants said they would be more likely to

seek out news and share stories if solutions journalism were more common, and many

noted that our sample stories helped them envision a way to become personally involved in

community problem solving.


4Executive Summary


5/27

Introduction

Why So Much “Bad News”?“In local news the only thing they report on are bad things, only negative things …They are

not showing us how to change the community.”

“What I have to do is just block myself away from that. Shut the news up because it ain’t

nothing but an ignorant box anyway.”

-South Los Angeles focus group participants

In a journalistic environment where the mantra “if it bleeds, it leads” continues to resonate—

and is amplified ever more by the clickbait web—there is a professional bias in favor of

reporting on violence, crime, police brutality, and other negative tropes.1 But how do

audiences process and react to stories about their communities presented within negative

frames? How would stories that address these systemic problems—while also exploring

their solutions—impact readers?

Looking at research about how audiences process negative information helps to

contextualize negative journalism frames. Political science studies have found that negative

stories largely have a greater influence on audiences’ perceptions of candidates and votingbehavior.2 Readers are more likely to click a hyperlink to a negative political story than a link

with a positive headline.3

Several studies in psychology complement findings of a “negativity bias,” which suggests

that people devote more attention to processing negative information,4 are more likely to

think it’s true,5 and to remember it.6 Researchers argue that the strength of bad over good

makes evolutionary sense and that humans are actually hardwired to be more psycho-

physiologically aroused by negative news.7

However, bad news is only influential when people are willing to consume it. A 2008 study of

young people’s media habits by the Associated Press found that many complained about the

negativity of news. They reported turning to satirical “fake news” outlets like The Daily Show

with Jon Stewart as an antidote to their “news fatigue.”8

Negative framing has also demonstrated itself to be a risky strategy in the realm of political,

humanitarian, and social change campaigns. Research on the impact of negative political

messages shows mixed results. While some defend the efficacy of negative messaging,9

others have found that negative messages cause audiences to stop seeking information.10


5Introduction


6/27

In the field of humanitarian campaigns, researchers document compassion fatigue—when

messages trigger a sense of hopelessness—or even a boomerang effect—when audiences

resent being subjected to messages that evoke guilt.11 Boomerang effects have also been

associated with climate change communication, where dire messages about global warming

appear to make people more skeptical about the phenomenon.12 In health communication,

audiences that consumed media which framed health issues negatively were found to have

lower perceptions of their own efficacy or behavioral intent around seeking preventative

care.13 14

The outcome is ambiguous. Negative storytelling may be highly salient to audiences, but

what audiences do with this information depends on a more complex web of factors.


6Introduction


7/27

Can News Be Good?

If humans are biased toward negativity, it follows that journalists are more likely to construct

and curate negative news stories. Journalism often centers on documenting the problematicand acting as a watchdog, particularly the field’s “fourth estate” responsibility to keep citizens

informed and hold government accountable.15 While some journalists question traditional

concepts of objectivity, news norms throughout the ages have remained relatively fixed.

What is determined to be news generally does not include the “normal,” the “good day,” or

positive stability.16

Journalists, for good reason, can be resistant to efforts that deliberately showcase “good

news” stories. Positive human-interest stories are often derogatorily labeled as puff pieces.

These are tolerated—but are not regarded as serious journalism. Positive stories are

frequently scrutinized as the potential outcomes of public relations initiatives17 18 or

advocacy journalism, which remains “a dirty word for legacy journalists.”19 A series of

movements, however, have come to fore in an attempt to push jour nalism toward not only

highlighting problems but promoting solutions.

Peace Journalism

A group of scholars and journalists emerged in the 1960s and 1970s to challenge the

conventions of news construction, and its r eliance on negative references and conflict as a

news value. Sociologist Johan Galtung, the driving force behind the movement, advocated

for the practice of “peace journalism,” as opposed to the status quo that he called “war

ournalism.”20 Galtung called for a shift in framing toward a model more akin to health

reporting—where journalists are encouraged to explore causes and strategies for prevention

of disease.21 While peace journalism as a genre has many qualities in line with traditional

ideas of responsible reporting, it does in some cases contain interventionist elements—for

example, encouraging stories with an agreement-orientation versus only focusing on points

of difference.22 Critics of peace journalism suggest it subverts fundamental tenets of

objectivity and places undue responsibility on journalists for correcting global ills.23 But

proponents of this and other strains of advocacy journalism say that objectivity is actually an

obstacle which prevents journalism from playing a more constructive role in public life.24

Civic or Public Journalism


7Can News Be Good?


8/27

In the 1990s another movement emerged that sought to place journalism as an active player

in the functioning of democracy. Civic journalism (or public journalism) advocated a “bottom-

up framing of the news,” which prioritized non-elite sources setting a “citizens’ agenda.”25

One of its founding theorists, Jay Rosen, called upon journalists to:

1. address people as citizens, potential participants in public affairs, rather thanvictims or spectators;

2. help the political community act upon, rather than just learn about, its problems;

3. improve the climate of public discussion, rather than simply watching it deteriorate;

4. make public life go well, so that it earns its claim on our attention.26

This movement renewed a historical journalistic debate between Walter Lipmann and John

Dewey over whether the journalist was just an observer, or rather an engaged actor whocould shape public discourse. Civic journalism took the latter approach, arguing that

reporters had a responsibility to craft their coverage so that the communities they represent

engage with issues that impact them. A number of news outlets undertook civic/public

ournalism initiatives, and researchers noted cases that achieved success in sourcing

greater numbers of non-elite and more diverse sources. Still, integrating civic/public

practices into the mainstream of journalism remained a challenge.27

Solutions Journalism

Solutions journalism builds on some of the concepts developed in peace and civic/public

ournalism. The Solutions Journalism Network, which was created in 2013 and has become

a leading player in advancing the approach, defines solutions journalism as “rigorous and

compelling reporting on responses to social problems.”28 Solutions journalism stories—

which can cover a range of local, national, and international issues—are not advocacy

pieces or “good news” stories. Nevertheless, they are in sync with calls from journalism

scholars like Herbert Gans that we broaden definitions of “newsworthiness” to include

“solutions for the country’s problems—advanced by people outside the mainstream.”29

The strongest solutions journalism stories use the rigor of investigative reporting to explore

systemic, underlying reasons for social ills, and then critically examine efforts to address

them. These are not stories about a problem that tack on a quick ending note as an

afterthought about what could be done. Neither do they follow the formula identified by Gaye

Tuchman, wherein media outlets present a solution as a way to “soothe the news

consumers even as they reify social forces” by ensuring the public that “legitimated experts

and authorities are doing everything they can.”30


8Can News Be Good?


9/27

In recent years, a number of media organizations have adopted regular segments that either

explicitly set out to create a platform for solutions journalism, or (at least) to highlight social

entrepreneurship and problem solving efforts.i The Solutions Journalism Network has

championed this genre, spearheading collaborations with mainstream outlets, including The

Boston Globe, the Detroit Free Press,31 and The Seattle Times.32

Solutions journalism is also a potential revenue generator—offering something fresh for

negative-news fatigued eyes hungry for positive innovation. The executive director of J-Lab,

Jan Schaffer, who was previously a leader in the civic journalism movement,33 suggests

that solutions-oriented stories can engage audiences and offer possible new business

models:

If one shifts the periscope from new business models for journalism to new journalism

models for news, I see the convergence of several trends that are beginning to provoke

a new conversation about whether journalists can—and should—craft a more deliberate

suite of tools that inspire movement and action. And if these tools were effective, would

citizens begin to pay as much for news as they pay to go to, say, a TED conference?34

The Solutions Journalism Network believes solutions journalism can sell: “People are likely

to pay for news that helps them understand how the world works.”35

At the heart of solutions-oriented journalism is an assumption that a solutions news frame

will encourage greater audience engagement. J-Lab’s Schaffer points to examples of

community participation in stories that focused on the redesign of streetscapes in Milwaukee

and efforts to aid preschool enrollment in Chicago.36 The Knight Foundation posed the

question: “The real challenge is, how do we move people from informed to engaged?” It

thinks solutions-oriented journalism may offer the answer.37 Solutions Journalism Network

co-founder David Bornstein sees journalism as “a feedback mechanism to help society self-

correct” and believes that knowing about the problem alone is unlikely to generate corrective

action. “People need to know what they can do—and how,” he said.38

There has been limited empirical research into how audiences respond to solutions

ournalism. Preliminary research conducted by the Solution Journalism Network and the

University of Texas at Austin’s Engaging News Project revealed that readers of solutions-

oriented stories felt more informed, and were more likely to share what they read and seek

more information.39 However, there is a lack of research on how solutions journalism can be

applied at the level of local and ethnic media—a level at which community members learn

about issues closest to home and have the greatest chance of affecting change.

Why Local News Matters


9Can News Be Good?


10/27

Local-level news is the focus of this study, primarily because communication theory

suggests it is critical to the maintenance of healthy communities. A lack of media discourse

reflecting the concerns of local residents poses barriers not only to residents’ access to

information, but also to their sense of community belonging and engagement.40 41 42 43

According to communication infrastructure theory, strong communities have strong

storytelling networks—that is, residents, local and ethnic media, and community

organizations are connected to each other and share an understanding about what is

happening in their area. Researchers have found that residents’ connection to a shared

storytelling network can predict higher levels of belonging, collective efficacy, and civic

participation.44 45 However, in communities like South Los Angeles, these networks

become problematic when the link between organizations and media is weak, the networks

are ethnically bounded, or the content of the stories circulating is overwhelmingly

negative.46 47 Residents who connect to such storytelling networks tend to be less engaged

and lack a sense of belonging.

This study aims to contribute to the development of a model for healthier local storytelling

networks. It responds to concerns about a dearth of constructive local coverage around both

community problems and systematic efforts to address these challenges. The project

explores how audiences process stories that have both been developed with input from

community organizations and employ a solutions-oriented lens, as well as how the same

audiences process local coverage of similar issues that use more traditional formats.

Research questions include:

1. How do South LA residents process media coverage of their communities?

2. How do South LA residents process stories that use a solutions-oriented journalistic

format?


10Can News Be Good?


11/27

Methods

Our project builds upon research the Metamorphosis Project48 has been doing on the

communication needs of residents in South LA and other diverse communities since 1998. It

follows an attempt by the Metamorphosis Project to strengthen the South LA storytelling

network in two ways. First, the project brought community organizations together with local

and ethnic media for a series of workshops, which helped all the participants to overcome

communications barriers that have plagued the story “pitching” process by giving them a

shared language and greater understanding of their intersecting community interests.

Second, the workshops facilitated the production of a series of stories leading up to the

fiftieth anniversary of the Watts riots (“Watts Revisited”) and ensured that these stories were

solutions-oriented.

To understand how South L A audiences responded to the stories that came out of this

collaboration and how residents would process the solutions journalism format more broadly,

a series of six focus group discussions centered around a storyii adapted from the “Watts

Revisited” collaboration.49 Two versions of the story were edited to offer examples of either

A) a solutions-oriented story or B) a non-solutions version of the same story.iii While both

stories examined the issue of vacant lots and the lack of outdoor spaces where children can

play in South LA, only the solutions version looked at efforts to transform vacant lots intoparks (see the Appendix for sample text).

Focus group participants, recruited with the assistance of community organizations, included

a total of forty-eight African-American and Latino South LA adults (twenty-three women,

twenty-five men; ages twenty-one to fifty-nine) who had lived in the area for a minimum of

two years and reported at least occasionally reading news articles. Participants were

assigned to groups clustered by ethnicity and language—three African-American groups

(English-language) and three Latino groups (one Spanish-language and two English-

language, in accordance with participants’ language preferences). Moderators for each

group were Los Angeles natives and shared the participants’ ethnic background.

Upon arrival, participants in four of the six groups read the solutions version of the story

before beginning the discussion. The other two control groups first read the non-solutions

version. After volunteering their own media practices and attitudes toward how outlets cover

South LA, the groups discussed the stories they read. After this, they were given the

alternate version of the story to read and discuss, before being introduced to and invited to

reflect upon the concept of solutions journalism. All focus groups were videotaped and

transcribed. Transcripts were then thematically coded and analyzed.


11Methods


12/27

Research Findings

Preliminary analysis of our findings offers insights into how residents of a stigmatized

community navigate and interpret local coverage, and the opportunities and limitations of

solutions journalism to engage these audiences.

Coping with Media Stigmatization

While many U.S. residents are distrustful of the media,iv the cynicism of South LA residents

is grounded in a history of media portrayals that depict the high-poverty area as rife with

violence, crime, and civil unrest. Focus group participants revealed how this media coverage

impacts their interpretation of the news they consume.

Overall, participants expressed dissatisfaction with how South LA is covered.v Many pointed

to a disconnect between media portrayals and their experiences. As one woman explained,

“You’re looking like, well, dang isn’t there anything positive in South LA? I know there’s a lot

going on positive over here. Why are we not seeing that on the news? Why do we always

see the bad stuff?”50

This is not to say there was no interest in or value placed on negative news. Several

participants spoke of using news about crime or violence to judge if there were particular

parts of their neighborhood they should avoid due to safety concerns. For example, one

woman referenced an incident in the summer of 2015 when threats and rumors circulated on

social media and mainstream news about “one hundred days and one hundred nights” of

retaliatory gang violence. “I appreciate that you’re informing me about that situation so I

know,” she said. News reports warned her that some of the neighborhoods she frequented

might have been affected by violence: “It stopped me from walking into an ambush. I

stopped going, and that way I didn’t have to put myself in harm’s way.”51

However, many mentioned a gap between their observed experience and what is reported. A

few cited examples of what they viewed as newsworthy events, both positive (e.g., a festival)

and negative (e.g., a shooting), that they had witnessed firsthand but which never made the

news. Some attributed this disconnect to the commercial priorities of media, while others

were openly suspicious of the media’s motives. As one man said, “They keep you out of

focus on what’s really going on.”52 Many lamented news’s emphasis on entertainment,

though some acknowledged continuing to consume this type of content anyway. Participants

were critical of news media’s (and particularly television news’s) “circus”-like quality, its lack

of investigation or follow-up coverage, or attempts to hold responsible parties accountable.


12Research Findings


13/27

For these residents, dissatisfaction with local news is about more than a lack of quality

coverage. Several participants spoke of local media as harmful, and as a contributor to

racialized representations. One man explained:

It’s a lot of weight coming from negative exposure to media …It can have a heavy,

negative mental or psychological effect on you. You have stuff going on in your own life,but then you hear about something bad that’s happening and it’s not even related to

you. It can make it feel even worse.53

Others spoke of how the negative coverage stigmatizes residents to outsiders: “It makes us

look like mostly criminals live around South LA,” said a twenty-year-old Latino participant.54

Another focus group member referenced watching television with his grandmother: “I’ll hear

her say things like, ‘Lord, have mercy’ … I see the pain that she feels for people she doesn’t

even know.” A young African-American man said while watching TV he felt moved by the

racialized nature of news coverage:

I get filled with a bunch of emotions when I see the biased opinion of the media—when,

say, a white guy goes out and starts shooting at places, they probably wouldn’t even

show his picture. But if it was an African-American male, he would be blasted all over

the media as an infamous person.55

Several participants lamented the lack of articulate community members representing them

in the news. A fifty-six-year-old man recounted an incident where a reporter was looking for

someone to react to an event in a park. “He picked out the cat that’s been sleeping on the

bench all day to describe what just happened. And I’m standing right there. I’m fresh, I’m

pressed … I’m literate,” he said, adding that the media perpetuates negative representations

by “picking the worst grape” of the bunch.56 Others suggested this phenomenon is

worsened by those reporters covering South LA, who tend to be outsiders to the area;

they're reportedly distant from the community, don’t take issues seriously, and at times even

exacerbate local tensions by appearing to favor one group over another.

One participant felt that, as a young African-American man, some news personalities are

disrespectful to people like himself. He said he tried to avoid news reported by journalists

whom he felt “would dismiss me on the same topic.” He cited an example of television news

he was watching about violence between African-American and Latino gangs. At the end of

the story, the reporter, who was Latina, “made a comment that was, like, really offensive …

something about leaving a ‘black eye on the community,’” he said. Given the reporter’s own

ethnic background, he interpreted this as a racial slur and suggested insensitive comments

by journalists could “create barriers.”57


13Research Findings


14/27

Accounting for the problematic nature of local media coverage, residents have developed

various strategies for finding out about the happenings in their communities. While some

said their distrust causes them to limit their news intake and thus minimize the “stress” of

negative coverage, others spoke of seeking out alternative sources. A few mentioned

alternative weeklies and ethnic newspapers, particularly as ways to connect to positive

community events. Several described how the Internet allows them to access a greater array

of sources, which are largely seen as more trustworthy than local television news. For

example, one woman said she avoided television because she thought it was too

“sensationalist”:

I know that if I go [onto] the Internet I will find more veracity. I will not run only into one

agency, but I will find many. For example, my brothers send me links and tell me, “Go

here and go there.” So then I go … find a different opinion from the other news—that

news is manipulated to interest the people.

58

For her, the Internet also offers a way for trusted, interpersonal connections to mediate news

sources—vetting them and giving them more authority. For many, interpersonal sources

accessed both through face-to-face interaction and social media were considered the most

reliable methods for learning about local information and verifying other sources. Those

participants who consume legacy media described doing so with oppositional readings. For

example, one man spoke of laughing through television broadcasts viewed as incomplete or

disingenuous—and then calling his friends or family to find out what was “really” going on.59

Critical Optimism and Solutions Journalism

In contrast to general perceptions of media coverage, most respondents expressed

appreciation for the solutions-oriented story introduced in the focus group. A number of

participants said the article about abandoned lots and efforts to transform them into parks

made them think about how they themselves could get involved with the issue. “What came

to my mind is how I could volunteer,” said one person.60 Others looked beyond the

particular case presented to other possibilities for community action: “You can look forwardto changing something yourself if you have the same goal in mind.”61

Those groups that were first asked to read the non-solutions version of the story—which

only discussed challenges presented by vacant lots and did not include efforts to address

the problem—often, unprompted, suggested the story would have been better had it

included solutions. Several volunteered prompts for how they would tell the story differently

by including ideas for how to develop the lots to serve community needs. Meanwhile, some

participants pointed out that even the non-solutions version of the story was more valuable

than the “typical” South LA news piecevi focused on crime and social ills, because at least it

incorporated articulate voices from community members affected by the issue. According to


14Research Findings


15/27

these participants, the non-solutions version of the story did not function as an average

baseline of typical coverage. While they welcomed solutions journalism, they acknowledged

that even negative coverage would be an improvement over the status quo if it were more

in-depth and inclusive of community perspectives.

Solutions journalism’s problem solving orientation resonated with what several participantsoffered as the ideal role of news. They suggested that the purpose of news should be to go

beyond traditional notions of journalistic objectivity. Some said news has a responsibility to

facilitate positive community change and civic engagement. One participant noted that

“news needs to be an actual participant in what’s happening rather than just reporting on it

…it needs to be a part of the change.”62 A few expressed seemingly contradictory ideas.

For example, one group reached a consensus that it was the job of the media to do no more

than “tell the truth”—while at the same time the media also had a responsibility to “make us

aware and give us a solution.”63

Participants reflected many of the controversies andcontradictions embedded within strands of journalism. Overall, though, their ideas regarding

a journalist’s role resonated more with solutions journalism, civic journalism, and peace

ournalism camps than with traditional schools of objective journalism.

While there was enthusiasm for the particular solutions-oriented story discussed and the

larger concept of solutions journalism, we also heard reservations. Residents were quick to

situate solutions offered in the context of the larger scope and scale of systemic challenges

facing South Los Angeles. As one fifty-six-year-old man pointed out, “That’s just, like, one

story … Where we come from, that’s like a drop in the bucket.”64

A critical concern was that solutions-oriented stories must be careful not to neglect a detailed

exploration of the problem or to suggest there is not a continued need to press for action. “If

all of it is positive, it kind of glossed over the problem,” said a fifty-nine-year old Latino

participant. “It kind of also gives you a feeling of ‘oh, no problem … it’s taking care of itself.’

”65 This concern resonates with Tuchman’s critical assessment of positive story elements—

or the assurance that authorities are doing “everything they can” as a way of undercutting

action or discontent from audiences.

66

The participant cautioned that stories need to offer amix of both positive potential solutions and analysis of more negative social problems:

You gotta be able to handle bad news. You can’t be like, “Oh, I don’t want to hear that

because I might get depressed.” It’s not realistic to expect everything to be sunshine

and lollipops in life. Anybody who’s grown up around here should know that already, but

you gotta get the information out no matter what the impact is.67

Residents also had ideas about how solutions journalism could go further to critically

challenge assumptions about South LA. After reading just one story, a selection of

participants did not feel its impact would be sufficient as a standalone model. Instead, they

suggested including more follow-up coverage and integrating community input.


15Research Findings


16/27

Despite seeing a need for improvement, most panelists suggested they would be more likely

to read or watch solutions-oriented stories if given the opportunity. They also said they would

discuss solutions journalism stories with friends and families: “It offers more of a platform not

to just discuss it, but … to tell them of how we can get involved to try to change it or trying to

make something different.”68 Some even suggested that solutions journalism, and efforts to

solicit community input on solutions, could help to strengthen connections in otherwise

fragmented communities. “It would actually bring the community … back together.”69


16Research Findings


17/27

Recommendations and Conclusions

This series of discussions offers an opportunity to learn from residents in an underprivileged

area whose voices are rarely heard reflecting constructively on how their own community’s

story is told. Those interviewed gave advice for how the media could better cover their South

LA neighborhood and reflected on their particular media preferences and practices. From

these conversations, we can offer the following recommendations for media outlets, as well

as those organizations working with media:

Adopting the Metamorphosis Project model of strengthening “storytelling networks”

between community organizations, local/ethnic media, and residents is a primary way to

develop local, community-based solutions journalism. These network connections arecritical to long-term impacts on civic engagement and local involvement.

Expanding engagement opportunities for resident involvement in various stages of story

development and dissemination is one method for strengthening this model. Residents

and organizations should be given opportunities to learn how to connect with media.

Community foundations should invest in workshops that train community members

around the best ways to communicate with journalists, and journalists to effectively

listen to communities. This should create critical feedback loops that are cultivated over

the long term.

In underserved communities of color where audiences feel neglected and even harmed

by traditional media coverage, solutions journalism offers a pathway to rebuild

constructive and mutually beneficial relationships of greater trust. Even while looking for

positive outcomes, reporters should take care to include thorough analysis of social

problems as part of their coverage.

Journalists seeking local sources in traditionally stigmatized communities should

consider whom they ask to speak for that community, and, when appropriate, seekarticulate and knowledgeable representatives. Reporters should be careful that while

pursuing “characters” for a story they do not uncritically reproduce negative stereotypes.

Local solutions journalism requires an investment in local reporting resources to enable

follow-up coverage and the development of lasting relationships with communities

beyond one-time stories. In addition, to cultivate trust within underrepresented areas,

media must seek to develop reporters who come from the communities they report on—

or, at minimum, enable reporters to embed themselves within communities in a way that

allows them to be responsive to local sensitivities and concerns regardingrepresentation.


17Recommendations and Conclusions


18/27

Complementing these recommendations, additional research on local solutions journalism

could further our understanding of the format’s potential. Future research might benefit from

comparing the cumulative consumption of media diets that have either a greater number of

solutions-oriented stories or more traditional stories in a longitudinal study. Such research

may include a second control group—making for a total of three types of stories:

1. solutions-oriented;

2. a non-solutions, problem-oriented, or “bad news” story; and

3. a “good news” story that highlights exceptional individuals doing positive things, usually

without critical analysis or discussion of systemic change.

This would allow for an exploration of the hypothesis that readers of both “bad” and “good”

news stories are likely to become or remain disengaged when they come away with a sense

that there is nothing to be done. This research would require care to insure significant

variance between good news and solutions-oriented stories, and additional resources to

hold more focus groups. Lastly, the research could include study of local television and

Internet sources to assess the broader potential for local solutions journalism, and potentially

the circulation and validation of stories within social networks.

Studies such as the current one could be duplicated in multiple areas of the same city (for

example, in a more affluent area such as West LA) to see how residents from different ethnic

and class backgrounds respond to stories which are in close proximity but concern the

“other.” Research might explore how residents react given that they are likely implicated in

the power dynamics of the story (public resources may have historically been diverted to

their neighborhoods; they may have greater resources to contribute to problem solving, etc.).

Finally, researchers should take care not to assume that questions developed for studies of

national or international news can be applied without substantial adaptation to local contexts

where audiences have firsthand experience with subject matter, and place-specific histories

and power relationships with media.

Solutions-oriented journalism does not offer a magic bullet for engaging audiences as either

media consumers or civic actors. We believe, however, that particularly in communities with

a long history of overwhelmingly negative coverage stories featuring community

perspectives that take a critical look at responses to social problems offer an opportunity to

strengthen connections between residents, media, and community organizations. At the end

of our discussion sessions, participants asked us how they could learn more about the

issues raised in these stories. Many wanted to get involved. We hope our study showcases

a few insights for media, other researchers, and community organizations as they explore

how local news can become a more constructive actor in engaged and informedcommunities.


18Recommendations and Conclusions


19/27

Appendix: Sample Solutions Story

The following has been adapted from Deepa Fernandes’s story “Groups Work to Turn South

LA Lots into Children’s Playgrounds,” broadcast on KPCC on April 30, 2015. The story was

edited for length, and names of community members involved in the original piece have

been changed. What follows was presented to focus group participants as an example of a

solutions journalism story.

Empty space in South Los Angeles

For decades, an odd-shaped lot on King Boulevard in South Los Angeles sat vacant.

Though fenced off from trespassers, trash collected inside its borders and the weeds grewbrown and brittle. The property is one of thousands of parcels landowners have abandoned

or left vacant, some in the wake of the Watt riots of summer 1965. Almost 3,000 lots sit

vacant in South L. A. In comparison, West L.A. has 134 vacant lots and the Wilshire Miracle

Mile district has 310 vacant lots.

Some community organizers are turning these abandoned spaces into play areas for young

children and their families. Organizers Loretta Coleman and Alex Rosario met up recently at

one of their projects: Serenity Park located next to railway tracks in Watts, where moms and

dads can exercise on outdoor fitness equipment while their children enjoy state-of-the-art

play structures. Coleman and Rosario want to see a similar metamorphosis at the King

Boulevard lot. Last December, organizers turned it into a pop-up soccer field, with a concert

stage in one corner and a kiddy play area in another. These day-long takeovers have been a

hit with local residents, and fired up a growing movement to reclaim vacant lots for

community betterment.

Tanya Kielser manages projects for The Public Land Alliance, the land conservation

nonprofit that Watts residents sought out to help tackle the lack of park space in their

communities. Kielser said Watts is a classic case of a “park-poor neighborhood.” “In an ideal

world, everyone would have a park within a 10-minute walk of their home,” Kielser said.

“Within a half mile of the Watts Serenity Park, there were zero acres of park space per

thousand people,” Kielser said. “The minimum standard for park acreage is four acres per

1,000 people.” Working with the community, Kielser and her team identified a suitable vacant

plot and tracked down the owner. They got the plot appraised, wrote a state grant and

bought the land for $875,000. Six years, and almost $5 million later, the blighted lot was

transformed into Serenity Park.


19 Appendix


20/27

On a recent morning, Marian Carter and her two toddlers were out enjoying Serenity Park.

Carter lives in the Nickerson Gardens, a sprawling public housing complex nearby. “From

our side of the community, from like Compton Avenue and Central, this is the nicest thing we

have,” she said. Carter said she visits Serenity Park every single day. She works out on the

fitness equipment while her children, Brianna, 3, and Kayla, 1, bounce between the swings

and the sand pits. It’s a gated park and small enough that Carter can see her kids playing as

she exercises. “I even tell my friends, I’m not going to 24 Hour Fitness. I’m not going to

Bally’s. I’m going to the park in the neighborhood. It’s absolutely free and the kids can play

closed in,” she said.

Research behind outdoor play

A growing body of scientific literature suggests that children like Brianna and Kayla will

benefit from exposure to the outdoors.

Researcher and writer Richard Louv catalogues evidence in his book “Last Child in the

Woods.” Louv said the literature finds an “impact on ADD, on obesity, on creativity, on the

ability to learn, on cognitive functioning, on mental health in particular” in children who did

not have regular outdoor play. “I think children, no matter where they live, have a human

right to the positive benefits of experiences in nature,” Louv said.

Those benefits, he said, include a healthier immune system from playing in—and ostensibly

ingesting—dirt. There has even been research that shows bacteria or infectious diseases,

commonly shared between toddlers and preschoolers, are lessened when children areoutdoors more.

Playing outdoors generally means children are more physically active. The Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention recommends 90 to 120 minutes of moderate to vigorous-

intensity physical activity for preschoolers during their typical eight-hour day in child care.

The American Association of Pediatrics promotes this CDC guideline and preschools are

expected to follow. But in South Los Angeles, few children attend preschool or child care,

which means many children under 5 hang out at home given the dearth of parks.

Karen Deaver, former executive director of the Children’s Environmental Center, warns that

in addition to physical health, a lack of unstructured outdoor play may have a negative effect

on children’s development. “Nature provides all kinds of materials that are not uniform in size

which fires up different parts of the brain,” she said.

Two decades ago, Deaver said, parents didn’t question the need to send a child outside to

play, and run out their excess energy. “We know now that it’s much more than blowing off

steam. It’s absolutely crucial for development because we know now that the children who

are not getting those experiences are not doing as well and are not as ready for school,” shesaid. “Having outdoor experiences is on par with having food, water, shelter and safety,”


20 Appendix


21/27

Deaver said. Organizers say concerns like these add to the urgency of redeveloping vacant

lots in South Los Angeles—so more children and families can benefit from spaces like

Serenity Park.


21 Appendix


22/27

Footnotes

i Some of these would fall short of strict definitions of solutions-oriented journalism (i.e., they

may occasionally mix in good news stories focused on exceptional individuals rather than

systemic change): http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Making-a-difference;

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/category/fixes/; http://www.wbez.org/series/global-

activism; http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/whats-working/.

ii The original story from which we adapted our sample solutions-oriented story:

http://www.scpr.org/news/2015/04/30/50927/groups-work-to-turn-south-la-lots-into-children-

s/

iii This A/B story model was adapted from the Solutions Journalism Network and Engaging

News model. Thanks to both the SJN and Engaging News staff members for offering input

on sample stories as we attempted to ensure the stories met a similar standard apart from

the solution versus non-solution formatting styles.

iv A November 2015 Pew survey found that 65 percent of respondents believed the national

news media has a negative effect on the United States: http://www.people-

press.or g/2015/11/23/beyond-distrust-how-americans-view-their-government/.

v Names of all focus group participants have been changed.

vi Participants asked to describe a “typical South LA story” listed words including: violence,

death, robbery, crime, poverty, unemployment, drugs, gangs, prostitution, homelessness,

police brutality, and gentrification, etc.


22Footnotes

http://www.people-press.org/2015/11/23/beyond-distrust-how-americans-view-their-government/http://www.scpr.org/news/2015/04/30/50927/groups-work-to-turn-south-la-lots-into-children-s/http://www.scpr.org/news/2015/04/30/50927/groups-work-to-turn-south-la-lots-into-children-s/http://www.wbez.org/series/global-activismhttp://www.people-press.org/2015/11/23/beyond-distrust-how-americans-view-their-government/http://www.scpr.org/news/2015/04/30/50927/groups-work-to-turn-south-la-lots-into-children-s/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/whats-working/http://www.wbez.org/series/global-activismhttp://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/category/fixes/http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Making-a-difference


23/27

Citations

1. J. Galtung and M. Ruge, “The Structure of Foreign News,” Journal of Peace Research

1(1965): 64–91.

2. E. Aragones, “Negativity Effect and the Emergence of Ideologies,” Journal of

Theoretical Politics, 2(1997): 189–210.

3. M.F. Meffert et al., “The Effects of Negativity and Motivated Information Processing

During a Political Campaign,” Journal of Communication (2006): 27–51.

4. S.T. Fiske, “Attention and Weight in Person Perception: The Impact of Negative and

Extreme Behavior,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 6(1980): 889–906.

5. B. E. Hilbig, “Sad, Thus True: Negativity Bias in Judgments of Truth,” Journal of

Experimental Social Psychology (2009): 983–986.

6. J. Newhagen and B. Reeves, “The Evening’s Bad News: Effects of Compelling Negative

Television News Images on Memory,” Journal of Communication 2(1992): 25–41.

7. R. F. Baumeister et al., “Bad Is Stronger Than Good,” Review of General Psychology

4(2001): 323–370.

8. Associated Press, 2008, http://www.slideshare.net/abaltakov/a-new-model-for-news-

33710535.

9. T. Brader, “Striking a Responsive Chord: How Political Ads Motivate and Persuade

Voters by Appealing to Emotions,” American Journal of Political Science (2005): 999–

1023.

10. D.V. Shah et al., “Political Consumerism: How Communication Practices and

Consumption Orientations Drive `Lifestyle Politics,'” The ANNALS of the American

Academy of Political and Social Science (2007): 217–235.

11. S. Cohen, States of Denial: Knowing About Atrocities and Suffering (Cambridge: Polity,

2001).

12. M. Feinberg and R. Willer, “Apocalypse Soon?: Dire Messages Reduce Belief in Global

Warming by Contradicting Just-World Beliefs,” Psychological Science 1(2011): 34–38.

13. M.D. Matsaganis, “Rediscovering the Communication Engine of Neighborhood Effects:

How the Interaction of Residents and Community Institutions Impacts Health Literacy

and How It Can Be Leveraged to Improve Health Care access,” University of Southern

California, 2008.


23Citations

http://www.slideshare.net/abaltakov/a-new-model-for-news-33710535http://www.slideshare.net/abaltakov/a-new-model-for-news-33710535


24/27

14. R.A. Nicholson et al., “Unintended Effects of Emphasizing Disparities in Cancer

Communication to African-Americans,” Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention

11(2008): 2946–2953.

15. H. Gans, “News & the News Media in the Digital Age: Implications for Democracy,”

Daedalus 2(2010): 8–17.

16. T. Harcup and D. O’Neill, “What Is News? Galtung and Ruge Revisited,” Journalism

Studies 2(2001): 261–280.

17. D. Boorstin, The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America (New York: Vintage

Books, 1992), 7–44.

18. O. Gandy, “Information in Health: Subsidized News,” Media, Culture and Society (1980):

103–115.

19. J. Schaffer, “A New Kind of Activist Journalism: When Finding Solutions Are Part of

Journalists’ Job, Too,” Neiman Journalism Lab, 4 June 2013,

http://www.niemanlab.org/2013/06/a-new-kind-of-activist-journalism-when-finding-

solutions-are-part-of-journalists-job-too/.

20. J. Galtung, “On the Role of the Media in Worldwide Security and Peace,” in Peace and

Communication, ed. T. Varis (San Jose: Universidad para La Paz, 1986), 249–266.

21. J. Galtung and D. Fischer, “High Road, Low Road: Charting the Course for Peace

Journalism,” Springer Briefs on Pioneers in Science and Practice (2013): 95–102.

22. S.T. Lee and C.C. Maslog, “War or Peace Journalism? Asian Newspaper Coverage of

Conflicts,” Journal of Communication 311–329.

23. T. Hanitzsch, “Situating Peace Journalism in Journalism Studies: A Critical Appraisal,”

Conflict and Communication Online 2(2007): 1–9.

24. J. Iggers, Good News, Bad News: Journalism Ethics and the Public Interest (Boulder:

Westview, 1998).

25. B. Massey, “Civic Journalism and Nonelite Sourcing: Making Routine Newswork of

Community Connectedness,” Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly 2(1998):

394–407.

26. J. Rosen, “The Challenge of Public Journalism,” in The Idea of Public Journalism, ed. T.

Glasser (New York: Guilford Press, 1999), 44.

27. D. Kurpius, “Sources and Civic Journalism: Changing Patterns of Reporting,”

Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly 4(2002): 853–866.


24Citations

http://www.niemanlab.org/2013/06/a-new-kind-of-activist-journalism-when-finding-solutions-are-part-of-journalists-job-too/


25/27

28. “What Is Solutions Journalism?” Solutions Journalism Network,

http://www.solutionsjournalism.org/about/solutions-journalism-what-it-is-and-what-it-is-

not/.

29. Gans, “News & the News Media in the Digital Age: Implications for Democracy.”

30. G. Tuchman, “News as the Reproduction of the Status Quo,” in Making News: A Study

in the Construction of Reality (New York: The Free Press, 1978), 209–217.

31. “New Collaborations: The Globe and the Free Press,” Solutions Journalism Network,

2015, http://www.solutionsjournalism.org/2015/07/09/new-collaborations-the-globe-and-

the-free-press/.

32. K. Hammonds, “Education Lab,” The Seattle Times,

http://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/.

33. J. Schaffer, “J-Lab's Jan Schaffer Reflects Back on 20 Years of Journalism Innovation,”

MediaShift, 4 November 2014, http://mediashift.org/2014/11/j-labs-jan-schaffer-reflects-

back-on-20-years-of-journalism-innovation/.

34. Schaffer, “A New Kind of Activist Journalism: When Finding Solutions Are Part of

Journalists’ Job, Too.”

35. “Frequently Asked Questions,” Solutions Journalism Network,

http://solutionsjournalism.org/about/faqs/.

36. Schaffer, “A New Kind of Activist Journalism: When Finding Solutions Are Part of

Journalists’ Job, Too.”

37. “More Good News,” Knight Foundation,

http://knightfoundation.org/blogs/knightblog/2013/11/21/more-good-news-solutions-

journalism-engages/.

38. D. Bornstein, “Why `Solutions Journalism’ Matters, Too,” The New York Times,

International Edition, 20 December 2011,http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/20/why-solutions-journalism-matters-too/?

_r=3.

39. Solutions Journlism, “Engaging News Project,”

http://engagingnewsproject.org/research/solutions-journalism/.

40. I. Costera Meijer, “Democratizing Journalism? Realizing the Citizen’s Agenda for Local

News Media,” Journalism Studies 3(2010): 327–342.

41. J.R. Finnegan Jr. and K. Viswanath, “Community Ties and Use of Cable TV andNewspapers in a Midwest Suburb,” Journalism Quarterly 2 (1988): 456–463.


25Citations

http://engagingnewsproject.org/research/solutions-journalism/http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/20/why-solutions-journalism-matters-too/?_r=3http://knightfoundation.org/blogs/knightblog/2013/11/21/more-good-news-solutions-journalism-engages/http://solutionsjournalism.org/about/faqs/http://mediashift.org/2014/11/j-labs-jan-schaffer-reflects-back-on-20-years-of-journalism-innovation/http://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/http://www.solutionsjournalism.org/2015/07/09/new-collaborations-the-globe-and-the-free-press/http://www.solutionsjournalism.org/about/solutions-journalism-what-it-is-and-what-it-is-not/


26/27

42. L.A. Friedland and J.M. McLeod, “Community Integration and Mass Media:

AReconsideration,” in Mass Media, Social Control, and Social Change: A Macrosocial

Perspective, ed. D. Demers and K. Viswanath (Ames: Iowa State University Press,

1999),197–226.

43. D.V. Shah, J.M. McLeod, and S.H. Yoon, “Communication, Context, and Community: AnExploration of Print, Broadcast, and Internet Influences,” Communication Research

4(2001): 464–506.

44. S.J. Ball-Rokeach, Y.C. Kim, and S. Matei, “Storytelling Neighborhood: Paths to

Belonging in Diverse Urban Environments,” Communication Research 4(2001): 392–

428.

45. Y.C. Kim and S.J. Ball-Rokeach, “Civic Engagement From a Communication

Infrastructure Perspective,” Communication Theory 2(2006): 173–197.

46. G.M. Broad, C. Gonzalez, and S.J. Ball-Rokeach, “Intergroup Relations in South Los

Angeles—Combining Communication Infrastructure and Contact Hypothesis

Approaches,” International Journal of Intercultural Relations (2013): 47–59.

47. N.-T.N. Chen et al., “Communication and Socio-demographic Forces Shaping Civic

Engagement Patterns in a Multiethnic City,” in Communication and Community , ed. P.

Moy (New York: Hampton Press, 2013), 207–232.

48. Metamorphosis Project, http://www.metamorph.org.

49. “Watts Revisited,” USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, 2015,

http://www.wattsrevisited.com.

50. 'Keanna', Focus group discussion with African-American residents (Group 6), Los

Angeles, 7 November 2015.

51. 'Raven', Focus group discussion with African American residents (Group 1), Los

Angeles, 24 October 2015.

52. 'Will', Focus group discussion with African American residents (Group 6), Los Angeles,

7 November 2015.

53. 'Duane', Focus group discussion with African American residents (Group 6), Los


54. 'Andres', Focus group discussion with Latino residents (Group 3), Los Angeles, 24

October 2015.

55. 'Tyler', Focus group discussion with African American residents (Group 5), Los Angeles,7 November 2015.


26Citations

http://www.wattsrevisited.com/http://www.metamorph.org/


27/27


7 November 2015.



58. 'Gabriela', Focus group discussion with Latino residents (Group 2), Los Angeles, 24

October 2015.

59. 'Manuel', Focus group discussion with Latino residents (Group 2), Los Angeles, 24

October 2015.

60. 'Gabriela', Focus group discussion with Latino residents (Group 2), Los Angeles, 24

October 2015.





63. 'Bianca', Focus group discussion with Latino residents (Group 3), Los Angeles, 24

October 2015.


7 November 2015.

65. 'Javier', Focus group discussion with Latino residents (Group 3), Los Angeles, 24

October 2015.

66. Tuchman, “News as the Reproduction of the Status Quo.”

67. 'Javier', Focus group discussion with Latino residents (Group 3), Los Angeles, 24

October 2015.

68. 'Keanna', Focus group discussion with African American residents (Group 6), Los Angeles, 7 November 2015.


7 November 2015.


Documents

Engaging Communities Through Solutions Journalism