Giving Compass' Take:

• The Solutions Journalism Network highlighted the work of Tracey Geibel of the Richland Source and asked about her how her work in solutions journalism is making an impact on her life. 

• What are the key components of solutions journalism within a local context that make it compelling? How can donors look into funding solutions journalism in their own neighborhoods?

• Read about the best solutions journalism in the past year. 

Every month, the Solutions Journalism Network highlights a journalist doing excellent solutions-focused reporting. This month, we’re featuring Tracey Geibel of Richland Source as our Member of the Month.

After Geibel graduated with a journalism degree, she dove head first into general assignment, hyper-local reporting — surprising herself with how much she gets done in a day, and why she feels inspired to do it all again each morning. We talked to her about her reporting process, her coverage of blight, her favorite parts of working at Richland Source, and how ‘embracing her awkwardness’ helps her dig deeper in interviews.

JH: I had the pleasure of already reading a bit of your bio on the Richland Source website! Since you’ve spent about a year and a half there now (after being #ImportedfromPennsylvania), I’m wondering, what’s a day in the life like at the Richland Source newsroom? What’s your favorite part of working there?

There’s plenty of days where I’m out covering back-to-back breaking news stories and/or community events. There’s other days where I am able to really focus in on a solutions journalism project. And then, there are days where I’m juggling a mix of everything. And those might actually be my favorite.

My favorite part about working here is that I feel like my reporting, especially my solutions journalism work, matters, like it really impacts the community. That’s what keeps me going.

And since being here, I’ve learned to love covering local news, especially in Richland County. There’s something wonderful about covering problems that I later see resolved. I can see how my reporting makes an impact.

But I love how everyone in the community responds to Richland Source. We get so much positive feedback on how we approach local journalism. From the very beginning, people would purposefully approach me just to say they appreciate our approach. And I really think its because we don’t simply report bad news. We make a point to cover good news, too, and to look at problems with a solutions lens.

Read the full article about solutions journalism by Julia Hotz at The Whole Story