Reasons Why a Story May Miss the Mark for Inclusion in the Solutions Story Tracker®
The Basics — We will not add a story to the Solutions Story Tracker for the following reasons:
Not Connected With a Media Organization
We accept only stories that are published or broadcast by media entities that offer strong, critical and independent reporting. For example, we don’t accept YouTube videos that are not connected to a news organization or journalist.
No Byline
The Solutions Story Tracker® catalogs only stories that identify who reported and wrote them so it’s clear who created the stories. We do accept stories from independent publications through international press agencies that may or may not include a byline.
No Date
The Solutions Story Tracker® is used for research. It is important that stories have dates for citations.
Solutions journalism focuses primarily on a response or responses to a problem. If a story misses this mark, we will not add it to the Solutions Story Tracker® for the following reasons:
No Description of How the Response Works
The story mentions a response but doesn’t describe how the response worked in detail.
Problem Only
The story has little or no information about a response. It is primarily focused on a problem.
Afterthought
The problem-focused story includes a paragraph or sound bite hinting at initiatives working to combat the problem, but responses are not the main focus.
Not About Solving a Social Problem
The story is about interesting or positive things that are happening, but they don’t amount to a response to a social issue or problem.
Solutions journalism conveys insight, so that lessons of a response are relevant and accessible to others. If a story misses this mark, we will not add it to the Solutions Story Tracker® for the following reasons:
No Insight
The story doesn’t demonstrate how the response could be useful or valuable to other individuals, or it lacks information about why the response was important for the community it was intended to serve.
Produces Good Feelings, Without Insight
The story highlights acts of kindness or nice things that are happening, but solutions journalism isn’t just about producing good feelings. The story needs to explore a response to a social problem that holds lessons and could be replicated in other contexts.
Solutions journalism provides evidence of a response’s success or failure or indications of progress linked to a response. If a story misses this mark, we will not add it to the Solutions Story Tracker® for the following reasons:
Just a Plan / Too Early
The story is about a plan that has been announced or launched, but there is no information yet about its impact or effectiveness.
Think Tank
The story proposes a potential solution and discusses theoretical challenges and opportunities, but real-world insights are limited because the response has not yet been tested or tried.
Research Study Summary Without Additional Reporting
The story primarily summarizes the findings of a research study. The story lacks practical applications or additional context and reporting by the journalist, though it does offer value in the world of solutions.
Raises Awareness Without Evidence
We don’t include stories that raise awareness about a response but don’t include any evidence of its impact or what can be learned from it. While raising awareness is important, solutions journalism focuses on efforts that have evidence of effectiveness, or lack thereof.
Solutions journalism discusses the limitations or shortcomings of the response or places the response in meaningful context. If a story misses this mark, we will not add it to the Solutions Story Tracker® for the following reasons:
No Limitations
The story does not discuss the limitations or shortcomings of the response and doesn’t place the response in meaningful context.
Solutions journalism is credible, independent reporting that is clear and understandable to people interested in adapting or scaling the response. If a story misses this mark, we will not add it to the Solutions Story Tracker® for the following reasons:
Lacks a Cohesive Focus
If more than one response is spotlighted in a story, the narrative needs to have a cohesive focus and still include the four elements of solutions journalism in connection with at least one of the responses.
Needs Additional Perspectives
The story relies too much on just a few sources — or just one.
Instant Activism
The story asks news consumers to support the response. (For example, buttons embedded within the story encourage readers to “Get involved,” “Donate here,” ”Support this campaign here,” etc.) Solutions journalism is about providing information to news consumers, not telling them which responses they should support.
Not Independent Journalism
The journalist or news outlet seems to be connected with the response profiled.
Personality Profile
The story is primarily about profiling, celebrating or honoring an individual, rather than focusing on the response that the individual is leading or advancing.
Finally, there are a few other reasons why we may not add a story to the Solutions Story Tracker®:
Broken Link
If a story has a broken link, we ask the submitter to provide the correct one.
It's a Blog
We generally do not accept blog posts because they often do not go through an established editorial infrastructure for rigorous reporting and fact-checking. When a blog has such a system, the story may be included in the Solutions Story Tracker®.
Not Accessible for Us to Review
We were not able to review a story because it is behind a paywall. While stories in the Solutions Story Tracker® can be behind paywalls, our team needs access to be able to review and tag the story. Please reach out to Marie von Hafften (marie@solutionsjournalism.org), to discuss possible workarounds.
Series Description / Landing Page
The Solutions Story Tracker® does not catalog series as a whole. We vet, tag and catalog stories individually. If we receive a link to a series landing page, we ask that the submitter instead submit each story individually.
Other
Our story reviewing team occasionally writes in custom comments for unusual issues, such as when they are reviewing a story that is a repost of a story already in the Solutions Story Tracker®.
