Solutions Journalism
Investigate evidence-backed responses instead of repeating the problem
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 90%
Solutions Journalism begins where conventional problem coverage often stops. After defining a persistent issue, the reporter looks for a real response that has already been attempted rather than offering personal advice or speculation. The response is investigated through evidence: what changed, for whom, under what conditions, and with what limits. The search can widen to other cities or countries that have addressed the same problem differently, creating useful comparisons and exposing mechanisms that may transfer. The final story still acknowledges the problem, but its center of gravity is how a response operates and what the available evidence says about its performance. Concrete people and places make the intervention legible without turning the piece into advocacy or pretending that a partial solution has eliminated the underlying issue.
Origin
Julia Hotz trained and works as a solutions journalist. Her search for systemic responses to loneliness and rising mental-health problems led her to social prescribing and eventually to The Connection Cure.
Core principles
- 01Problem awareness is not the same as useful reporting
- 02Responses should be judged by evidence of what worked
- 03Other places can reveal transferable approaches
- 04Concrete stories make systemic responses understandable
How to run it
- 1
Define the reporting gap
Identify a problem that receives repeated coverage while credible responses remain underexplored.
Pro tip Distinguish public awareness of the problem from knowledge about what has been tried.
- 2
Find an implemented response
Locate a program, policy, practice, or institution already attempting to address the problem at a meaningful level.
Pro tip Look beyond the most familiar city or country when the local response is limited.
Watch out Do not treat a proposal or press release as a demonstrated response.
- 3
Interrogate the evidence
Examine what has worked, where the evidence is mixed, and what conditions affect the result. Seek outcome evidence rather than relying only on participant enthusiasm.
Watch out A positive anecdote does not establish effectiveness.
- 4
Compare contexts
Study how other cities or countries address the same problem and which parts of their approach depend on local systems.
Pro tip Use comparison to expose mechanisms, not to declare one place universally superior.
- 5
Tell the response story
Show how the intervention works through specific people and experiences while preserving evidence, limitations, and systemic context.
Watch out Avoid turning rigorous reporting into promotional success copy.
In the wild
During the pandemic, reporting repeatedly described loneliness and rising mental illness. Hotz looked beyond calls for more therapy and medication to ask what else was working systemically. That search led to social prescribing programs, their evidence, and stories from countries using community-based responses.
→ A familiar problem became a reported investigation of an implemented, evidence-bearing response.
Common mistakes
Repeating the problem as the whole story
More examples of harm can increase urgency without helping readers understand any tested response.
Confusing optimism with evidence
A hopeful intervention qualifies for investigation, not automatic endorsement.
Ignoring transfer conditions
An approach that works in one health, economic, or cultural system may require adaptation elsewhere.
Is it for you?
Best for
Journalists and researchers covering persistent social problems where interventions have already been attempted.
Not ideal for
It is not suitable for promoting an untested idea merely because it sounds hopeful.
From the transcript
“whenever we hear about a problem a problem a problem a problem and that's the only story we hear Solutions journalism says okay let's see…”
“let's look to the evidence let's look to what other cities or countries are doing and you know let's Tell those kinds of stories”
From the episode
Episode 391: Julia Hotz: Connection Cure, Social Prescribing, and Dating App Alternatives
Julia Hotz