10 Things I Learned:

1. I learned that solutions journalism does not always imply that a story will only focus on the positive aspects, and that the questions of “how is this solution not succeeding?” or “where are the limitations, failures, and possible improvements?” are just as crucial to telling the whole story.

2. Good solutions journalism often comes from personal struggles, and isn’t always focused on things happening to other people in places far away from our own community and lives.

3. Good stories have characters, but not heroes. The “hero” is the work, not the people. There are no “saints” even in social change.

4. It is possible to write solutions-oriented stories or series in a concise way.

5. It is a good strategy to incorporate solution stories if you are a beat journalist.

6. When reporting on a non-profit, it doesn’t have to come off like thinly veiled PR. You can talk about problems that are occuring, as well as how the responses are only successful in certain parts of a country or a part of the world.

7. Instead of always focusing on negative aspects of data reporting, we can look for a positive deviant and uncover why a certain area or demographic is having that type of success.

8. It’s helpful for people in some areas to read a story about something similar happening somewhere else, so that community members can better advocate for a solution.

9. More important than the 5 W’s is the “how?’ in a story.

10. You never want to sound “overly credulous.” As long as you report accurately on the response(s) of a certain time period without making claims, you are fine.