Social Media for
Solutions Journalism
Social media continues to be a primary driver of news consumption, especially for younger audiences. Whether we as journalists like it or not, 20% of adults in the United States say they often get their news from social media, according to the Pew Research Center. Should solutions journalism be the exception? Quite the contrary. Solutions journalism should be on social media to help achieve its ultimate goal – informing citizens of solutions to critical problems that impact our society.
"The most important facet of solutions journalism to me is the ability to reach those who you're trying to access in the first place"
It is important to remain mindful of the people whom our solution stories aim to benefit, given that social media and emerging platforms like TikTok are becoming the primary source of news for young people.
“If you're trying to make solutions journalism for [the] youth, you can't not use social media," Uzunlar added.
As the landscape of news consumption shifts, it is becoming increasingly important for journalists to adapt their approach to reach a wider audience. Social media is invaluable for distributing solutions stories and allows journalists to experiment with different formats. From short TikTok videos to bite-sized Twitter threads, social media can help you convey solutions journalism in ways that a traditional long-form text story can't. Those different social-first solutions stories can help engage a wider audience and inform more people about potential solutions to complex issues.