BY: Mashudu Magadu
Student Living Workshop Invites Shirley Govender to Discuss Solutions Journalism: A New Approach in Media understanding how storytelling people about people reveals what works for them and what didn’t. This approach is especially productive at the end of a solutions journalism course because of the framework the course provides. The workshop focused on exploring how responses to problems were implemented, seeking out evidence of effectiveness, acknowledging limitations, and gaining practical insights. The solutions journalism framework provides an excellent template for assessing what truly helped students produce publishable solutions journalism stories and what obstacles they faced.
To make the most of this opportunity, before the end of the discussion, Mrs. Govender created a quiz and invited students to participate in it. “Not only did I learn solutions journalism, but I also learned some tips that are helpful for all journalists or storytellers,” said Prudence Nhavingo.
Part of the discussion on solutions journalism included common reasons for news avoidance. “39% of people globally report avoiding the news because it is too negative,” said Mrs. Govender.
Guest speakers reinforced the value and impact of stories that meet the solutions journalism standard and inspired the students. Solutions journalism is unique in that it emphasizes how valuable it is for students to read and analyze various solutions stories. Throughout the semester, we analyzed stories by professional journalists and student journalists, almost-solutions stories to see what they needed to become solutions stories, and stories from various media.
All this provides students with a deep understanding of what solutions journalism is and why it’s important in today’s media environment. “Regardless of whether these students go on to write solutions stories, I’m sure they will remember that no story about a problem is complete if they haven’t checked in with people who are trying to do something in response to it. Remember, as journalists, we are not only the watchdog but we also bite,” said Mr. Mcinga.
