Join Solutions Journalism Network's second Rural Cohort; deadline to apply is March 19

When it comes to societal problems, journalists are some of the most strategically placed professionals to expose what's gone wrong. At the same time, they are uniquely positioned to find answers to those problems. If you're a community journalist who wants to add solution-seeking depth to your reporting tools, consider signing up for the Solutions Journalism Network's next Rural Cohort. The deadline to apply is March 19. 

The Rural Cohort is a six-month program designed especially for the challenges of rural-serving newsrooms. Its goal is to support and train newsrooms seeking to learn solutions journalism and put it into regular practice. 

This isn't a program designed to add work to a newsroom's already full plate. Instead, cohort members will learn how to convert some of the vital and valuable coverage they're already doing into a solutions framework. Examples: county commission agendas, school board meetings, press releases and regular beat coverage.

Adrianna Adame

Last year, SJN trained its first cohort of rural journalists who learned how to incorporate a solutions lens into their reporting. With that new view, these reporters developed stories with added depth and meaning for their audiences. One example is Adrianna Adame, the education reporter for Buffalo's Fire, an Indigenous digital outlet based in North Dakota. She covered graduation rates this year, digging into how a local Native high school has become an example for other schools.

The non-profit Solutions Journalism Network defines its focus as "'rigorous, evidence-based reporting on the responses to social problems, the mission of which is 'to transform journalism so that all people have access to news that helps them envision and build a more equitable world,'" writes Lauren Kessler for Nieman Storyboard.