Recapping our discussion on solutions-focused coronavirus coverage
Last Friday, we turned #NewsBookClub into #NewsStoryClub. A group of us gathered to discuss some of the best solutions-focused early coverage we’d seen of the coronavirus pandemic, and we shared resources to help improve coverage of the outbreak.
We had a terrific conversation discussing everything from how visual journalists can best tell the story while most people are quarantined to how to apply solutions-focused reporting in a developing story.
Here’s a list of the resources and stories that were discussed in the conversation. I hope they’re useful!
• Vermont has one of the highest rates of homeschooling in the country. As families prepared for school closures, the Vermont Public Radio podcast Brave Little State put out a call out for tips on at home learning.
• Seattle was the site of the early major outbreak in the U.S., and this NPR story examined the benefits of drive through testing areas, which are now popping up across the United States.
• Many states postponed their primary elections and are looking at vote-by-mail practices. This story by Washington Monthly looked at how the lessons learned from this time may inform our voting practices moving forward.
• How an over the top response from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo brought some stability to the state as it deals with the most significant outbreak in the United States. This led to a fascinating conversation on how to do solutions-based opinion reporting.
• Membership puzzle project’s Ariel Zirulnick curated a Twitter thread on how newsrooms are bringing volunteers to those who are in need. Here’s how the Boston Globe and Dallas Morning News are using their sites to connect members of their community
• ASU Cronkite School professor Fernanda Santos’ wrote this twitter thread with remote reporting sources for journalism students.
•Here’s the National Press Photographers Association COVID-19 response guide
• It can be a challenge to reach audiences that don’t have internet access. Here’s how some outlets are offering coronavirus instant updates over text message
• And this week, our friends at Solutions Journalism Network held a webinar on Solutions Journalism 101 coverage of the coronavirus crisis.