What Happened Next? Thoughts on Revisiting the Solution
When it comes to solutions journalism stories, as either a reader or a journalist, have you ever wondered where the solution is now?
Ask any journalist and most will agree that today’s news cycle moves pretty quickly. Between a culture of instant gratification and the speed of publishing on a digital platform, asking “what’s next?” often takes precedence over asking “what happened next?” When it comes to solutions journalism stories, as either a reader or a journalist, have you ever wondered where the solution is now?
There are over 5,000 stories catalogued in the Solutions Story Tracker, and many of these solutions have the potential to be looked at again. Although journalism tends to follow what’s happening in the moment, taking a look back at what was being piloted at an earlier time not only allows for an expansion about the successes or shortcomings of a solution, but also revives the original solutions story, potentially identifying new insights. This opportunity has the potential to particularly facilitate conversations around impact measurement, as well as ways to learn from failures.
Several news outlets and organizations have taken significant steps towards implementing this follow-up reporting, but few (if any) foster an atmosphere where it’s standard practice to take a look back. The intention of this piece is to help fill that gap. Through a series of brief interviews with journalists and research about what’s been done before, I’ve gathered a few insights about the advantages, limitations and various aspects to consider when considering pitching a follow-up solutions story…
Check In
“I treated each follow-up as a separate entity and always added at least one paragraph of background information for context. Each one featured fresh angles and new sources. My goal was to illuminate how the farm crisis affected ordinary Iowans.”
- Sherry Ricchiardi, Putting a ‘Spotlight’ on follow-up stories
Heath Haussamen, editor and publisher at NMPolitics.net, published a story in July of 2018 about a local county clerk that boosted voter turnout. Within the same month, Heath followed up this initial solutions story to report on that same county clerk resigning. While the follow-up reporting highlights the realities of a solution failing, Heath plans to continue following the story to see whether the given limitations actually result in the complete finality of the solution. “Turnout was up in Doña Ana County in the midterm election,” he recalls. “I’ve asked the question, is this because of the voter engagement efforts the office has undertaken? The answer seems to be it isn’t hurting. It’s going to take a few more elections to develop a trend over time to see where things are going, and I plan to watch it for that long and come back to it. I’ll also have to follow up on how the clerk’s office is doing in light of the recent turmoil, and I’ll plan to do that as well.” Showing that not all solutions last or turn out as initially planned, the importance of checking back in on this story not only shed light on what could be learned from the failure of a solution, but also provided a new angle for the community to consider.
Talk to Your Sources
Is the solution still working? Has it scaled or has the idea spread? What has happened since initial implementation? These are all questions that may be answered through follow-up conversations with your original sources. Maintaining contact with fixers, organizations and any other sources that were vital to your initial reporting will allow you the opportunity to gain insight into what has changed. While oftentimes it may take years — or even decades — to see if there has been measurable impact, small achievements or limitations may surface sooner.
The key when approaching sources is to have an idea about what you’re hoping to learn. Maya Kapoor, a journalist for High Country News, suggests approaching the story with a specific question in mind in order to narrow the focus. “Think hard about the question,” she advises. “Is the question XYZ can happen, or is the question will people accept this, will there be funding? Narrow the question so there’s an answer.”
It’s also important to note here that these conversations do not have to happen in person. Janice Cantieri, a Fulbright Fellow for National Geographic, offers insight on keeping contact from afar. “I reported on greenhouses in India that are helping small farmers adapt to climate change, and my initial story was published about a year after I first reported on it. I made two trips during that time to complete the reporting, then maintained contact with my fixer/translator who kept me updated on the project. That way I had another source of info in addition to the nonprofit founders.” It’s worth noting here, though, that some journalists may struggle with this approach given the technological access of the communities they have reported on. “It really helped that this community had access to cell phones/WhatsApp. I’ve worked in some isolated places where that wouldn’t have been possible,” Janice says.
Make It Matter (Again)
Sometimes it seems that stories have the lifespan of only a few minutes, given the pace of publishing in today’s digital atmosphere. The good thing about reporting on solutions is that very rarely do they have a planned end date. Following a solution along its indefinite lifespan allows a journalist to make their initial reporting relevant again. “I think it’s important to follow up because it allows you to see whether a solution is really effective long-term, if it can scale, have lasting impact, or if it was just a short-term thing,” Janice says. Her next story about the same project in India that she reported on in April 2018 will be published in January 2019. “The project has expanded a lot from one village into several states in India, so I gathered info by talking with my fixer, the founders, and also several photographers were sent to photograph my story and collected updated info as well.”
(How to) Approach Your Editor
The culture of “what’s next” over “what happened next” is further fostered by how journalism beats traditionally function. “It’s an under-pursued form of journalism, but it’s not how journalism beats work,” Maya says when discussing the limitations involved in thinking about follow-up solutions stories. A journalist reports on the solution they’ve pitched, and then moves on to the next topic.
One way to approach this barrier is to take an initial solutions journalism pitch to an editor with a plan already in place to do a follow-up, especially if the story will be told through the voice of particular people. When using anecdotal writing to portray a solution in a community, an audience often begins to care in a different way. “Where are they now? People are interested,” Maya says. The obvious limitation of this is not knowing how long of a life or how much of an impact a solution will have. This problem is further exemplified when reporting on the environment or climate change. “Sometimes we won’t know if they are successful for over a decade — maybe even 100 years,” Maya explains. That being said, she also emphasizes, “There’s no shortage of good things to write about.”
One suggestion here is to pitch a topic with the premise of doing a follow-up on that topic, rather than the specific solution. Is there a way to tie a solution happening in one place with what’s happening in another area? Did the solution bring light to other problems or solutions? The follow-up story does not necessarily have to center directly on the same people or even the same community necessarily, but rather add to the conversation on a specific topic.
Leslie Cory is a 2019 Senior Story Fellow — and was a 2018 Story Fellow — at Solutions Journalism Network. Originally from the Central Valley of California, Leslie Cory is a multimedia producer and video editor currently based out of Fort Collins, Colorado. Her past assignments have focused on environmental impact and awareness, identity, human rights and policing. Her work and contributions have appeared in A Beautiful Perspective, Fusion, Huffington Post, Nat Geo Adventure, Civil Beat, Wild Magazine and The Bubble. Leslie graduated from University of California, Davis in 2013 and completed her master’s candidacy in journalism at University of California, Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism in 2017. She is currently freelancing while instructing journalism courses at Colorado State University and advising media operations at Rocky Mountain Student Media Corporation.
