Giving Compass' Take:

• When covering stories on incarceration, it is useful to utilize a solutions journalism lens to expand knowledge about the issue. Here are three suggestions on how to change media narratives on mass incarceration. 

• How are donors supporting or funding solutions journalism approach? Should more journalists take up this framework for covering issue topics?

• Read about the human-focused approach of solutions journalism. 

On August 21, 2018 as incarcerated Americans across the country held a nationwide strike to demand better working conditions and an end to prison slavery, the Solutions Journalism Network hosted a Twitter chat with Nicole Lewis, Tow Reporting Fellow at The Marshall Project; Dr. Breea C. Willingham, Criminal Justice Professor at Plattsburgh State University; and J. Gabriel Ware, a freelance journalist, to talk about how to investigate and report on solutions to incarceration.

Our goal was to expand thinking about the impact of incarceration and find a way to lend a humanistic view of the problem. Our three panelists offered suggestions on how to challenge prevailing media narratives around incarceration.

  • Move away from stereotypes and focus on underlying issues: “The more salacious the story, the more coverage.” says Dr. Breea C. Willingham, “The media tends to miss the issues and goes for the headline-grabbing type of stories like prison escapes and riots. They miss reporting on the underlying issues of mass incarceration.”
  • Prepare to tackle complexity in the story There is no shortage of solutions-focused stories within the criminal justice system.” says Nicole Lewis, “Often these stories just start with a question: I wonder if anyone is trying to do that differently?”
  • Expand your sources to gain new perspectives “It’s much easier to find a problem than a solution, but I get solutions-focused story ideas from all over — editors, news sources, nonprofits and research studies,” says J. Gabriel Ware. “I always want to not only report a successful response as a viable solution, but also address its weaknesses. No solution is perfect, so I never report ‘cheerfully’ about a solution.”

Read the full article about covering incarceration through solutions journalism by Meera Vijayann at The Whole Story.