Annual Report 2016

We set out to integrate the practice of solutions journalism — rigorous reporting on responses to social problems — into the daily news.

Read the Letter from the Founders >

Our Impact

in 2016

Curriculum | Newsroom practice change | Network | Dissemination

1

Curriculum

SJN’s curriculum is the foundation of all we do. It provides an accessible explanation of the craft, with specific modules aimed at beats, issue areas, and different media.

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TOPLINE STATS

8,815

people joined in a live training or used our online training resources

38

news organizations

participated in our core training workshops

6

journalism schools

integrated the solutions approach into course curricula

Case Study: "The Poverty Puzzle" at Chattanooga Times Free Press

2

Newsroom Practice Change

In its first four years, SJN has focused on intensive newsroom engagements to demonstrate proof of concept for solutions journalism.

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TOPLINE STATS

10 news organizations produced solutions journalism focused on violence prevention

7 Mountain West newsrooms produced “Small Towns, Big Change,” a solutions-focused regional collaboration

16

news outlets joined our Philadelphia Reentry Reporting Collaborative, covering recidivism and prisoner re-entry through a solutions lens

The Seattle Times’ award-winning “Education Lab,” now in its fourth year, reported story pageviews 102% higher and social shares 230% higher than regular education coverage

3

Network

SJN’s network strategy responds to the question: How do we drive the adoption of solutions reporting among more journalists with lower investment?

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TOPLINE STATS

2,443

members

Reached within 7 months after the launch of new website and online network, The Hub

557

members reached at our Facebook discussion group

57%

Twitter followers increased

with an average reach per month of 136,000 impressions

Time on new website up 24.4%, with users viewing 21.1% more pages per visit

Launched local communities in Philadelphia and D.C.

4

DISSEMINATION

SJN’s dissemination activities are concerned with accelerating the diffusion of solutions stories into society and, in turn, building demand for more and higher-quality solutions reporting.

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TOPLINE STATS

1,579

stories

in the Solutions Story TrackerTM, a searchable archive of tagged stories

presented at

over 40 industry events, including: Sundance Film Festival, SXSW Interactive, IJF International Journalism Festival, AEJMC, ASNE, ACES, SPJ, Muslim Public Affairs Council, New Mexico Press Women Association, JAWS, AJPA

87

media citations

of SJN and/or solutions journalism, including articles in Nieman Lab, BBC, Tow Center for Digital Journalism, Poynter, and the Columbia Journalism Review

Spreading

the Practice

2016Financial

updates

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The Solutions Journalism Network’s operating expenses grew by 68% to $3.8 million for the full year 2016.

This was up from $2.3 million total expenses in 2015. Program expenses associated with newsroom collaborations, journalism school work, as well as the growth of our national network accounted for 87% of total expenditures in 2016, as compared to 72% in 2015. The total overhead ratio—including expenses associated with fundraising—was 14% in 2016, as compared to 28% in 2015.

A note regarding grants payable: During 2016, SJN restated its accounting for outstanding commitments on sub-grants payable to newsrooms. Grants payable as of December 31, 2014 and 2015 had not previously been recorded. SJN’s 2015 financial statements have now been restated to reflect those sub-grant commitments

Organizationalcapacity

updates

During 2016, SJN continued to strive to adhere to best practices in non-profit administration, and during the course of the year:

• SJN became a fiscal sponsor to Honey Guide Media, Inc., a newsroom partner, under a sub-grant agreement through an SJN project grant that was funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.• SJN has been pleased to continue working with Raich, Ende and Malter as its independent auditor in 2016. In addition, SJN continued to retain Kiwi Partners for selected accounting support.

Governance

The organization elected Nathalie Laidler-Kylander to the board of directors during the first quarter of 2017. Ms. Laidler-Kylander joins the board in her capacity as Managing Director of the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, a new grantor for the organization in 2016

Funding partners

Our People

Team & Members

Coordinators & Consultants in 2016

Catherine Cheney

Bay Area Coordinator

Nina Fasciaux

Europe Coordinator

Jean Friedman-Rudovsky

Philadelphia Reentry Collaborative Project Editor

Ben Goldfarb

Mountain West Project Editor

Joanne Levine

DC Coordinator

Sabrina Vourvoulias

Philadelphia Reentry Collaborative Project Editor

Holly Wise

Director of Journalism School Engagement

Board Members

David Boardman

(Chair of the Board) is Dean of the School of Media and Communication at Temple University in Philadelphia. Previously, he was Executive Editor and Senior Vice President of The Seattle Times, the largest news organization in the Pacific Northwest.

David Bornstein

SJN’s co-founder and CEO, is a journalist and author who focuses on social innovation. He co-authors the “Fixes” column in the New York Times “Opinionator” section, which explores and analyzes potential solutions to major social problems.

Dean Furbush

(Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee) is former CEO of ScrollMotion, Inc., a New York-based technology firm. From 2007 to 2012, Dean served as President of College Summit, a non-profit organization that increases college enrollment and college success for students in low-income high schools, by transforming high school culture.

Susan Davis

is an author, public speaker and a civil society thought leader on social entrepreneurship and sustainable development. For the last decade, Davis was the co-founder, President and CEO of BRAC USA, an independent North American affiliate of the anti-poverty development organization begun in Bangladesh.

Nathalie Kylander

is a managing director of the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, an SJN funder. A biochemist, an MBA, and a PhD, she has worked extensively in both the private and social sectors over the course of her 30-year career, becoming one of the world’s leading experts on nonprofit brand management.

Courtney Martin

an SJN co-founder, is an author, blogger, and speaker. Her most recent book, The New Better Off: Reinventing the American Dream, published last fall.

Tina Rosenberg

an SJN co-founder, is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author. She co-authors the “Fixes” column in the New York Times “Opinionator” section. She is a former editorial writer for the New York Times and a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine.

Trabian Shorters

is a social entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in diverse fields including national service, technology, non-profit, philanthropy and social entrepreneurship. In 2011, he launched BMe Community, which builds caring and prosperous communities inspired by black men.

Board Members

Dominic Rovano

serves in an advisory role to the Finance and Audit Committee of Solutions Journalism Network. He is a member of the American Society of CPAs and the New York State Society of CPAs, serving as Vice Chairman of the NYSSCPA Employee Benefits Committee.