Registering in the platform is easy. Please follow these steps:

1. Create an account in the Journalism Courses system. Even if you’ve taken a course with us before, you may need to create a new account. Check to see if your previous username and password work before creating a new account.
2. Wait for a confirmation in your email indicating that your account has been created. If you do not receive this, please check your spam folder.
3. Log into the platform, scroll down until you see the course listings, and click on the "Solutions Journalism: New ways of elevating your reporting and engaging audiences" course.
4. A button will appear. Click “Enroll” to enroll yourself in the course. You will be able to access the course from the “My Courses” menu at the top of the page.
5. You will receive an email confirming your enrollment.

Please add the email addresses journalismcourses@austin.utexas.edu and filipa.rodrigues@utexas.edu  to your address book to ensure you receive emails about the course.

For the next four weeks, you will learn the key principles of solutions journalism. What is it? What is it not? Why is it important? And how to make it happen, from idea to reporting to completed story.

Upon completion of this course you will be able to: Understand solutions journalism and how it can enhance your reporting skills by producing rigorous, compelling coverage of the responses to social problems, incorporating the key elements of response, insight, evidence and limitations.

Introduction Module: Why Solutions Journalism?

Solutions Journalism is a global shift in journalism, focused on what the news often misses: how people try to solve problems and what we can learn from their successes or failures. By covering solutions to local and global challenges, journalists can equip people in all communities with the knowledge to envision and build a more equitable and sustainable world.

This module will cover:

• Telling the whole story
• Enhancing accountability
• Restoring the public’s trust

Module 1: What solutions journalism is, and what it is not

(May 8 - 14, 2023)

Solutions stories report on efforts to solve problems, but they don’t celebrate those efforts. This module teaches you the difference between a solutions journalism story and impostors.

This module will cover:

• How do I know it's solutions journalism?
• How do I know it’s NOT solutions journalism?
• The four pillars of solutions journalism

Module 2: Identifying, vetting and reporting solutions stories

(May 15 - 21, 2023)

Many people who want to do solutions journalism aren’t always sure where to begin. In this module, we are going to help students learn how to cover solutions journalism across different beats.

This module will cover:

• Identifying a social problem
• Looking for the slices of a problem
• The positive deviant — responses that appear to drive better outcomes for one community when compared to other communities with similar challenges
• Leveraging solutions journalism to build trust with their audiences, increase engagement and loyalty, and drive impact and accountability

Guest speaker: Kavita Chandran, journalism trainer and news content advisor, Singapore

Module 3: Organizing and telling solutions stories

(May 22 - 28, 2023)

Solutions stories are often structured differently; there is no one size fits all approach. In this module, we will review fundamental concepts when choosing a narrative.

This module will cover:

• Should I start with the solution or the problem?
• Identifying the characters
• Transparency in unpacking the story
• How to package solutions journalism across different platforms
• Solution journalism best practices from across the globe

Guest speaker: Chibuike Alagboso, journalist, Nigeria Health Watch

Module 4: Building solutions journalism into your workflow

(May 29 - June 4, 2023)

For many journalists, the idea of solutions journalism resonates immediately. But some need clarification on the approach. In this module, we’ll discuss how to bring solutions journalism into your newsroom in a sustained way.

This module will cover:

• Dispelling misconceptions about solutions journalism
• The solutions whisperer
• Propose a story/series
• Measuring success

Guest speaker: Swati Sanyal Tarafdar,  freelance, Solutions Journalism Network LEDE fellow, India

Hugo Balta is the Publisher of the Illinois Latino News (ILNN). ILNN is one of six independent digital news outlets in the Northeast and the Midwest managed by the Latino News Network (LNN). LNN provides greater visibility to Hispanic and Latino communities and amplifies the work of others in doing the same. The network mentors young journalists and affords them real work experiences. LNN applies the principles of solutions journalism to its investigative reporting. Balta is an accredited solutions journalism trainer. A news veteran of more than 30 years, Balta has led newsrooms in multiple markets and platforms. He has held positions as the Executive Editor of The Chicago Reporter, News Director of Chicago's PBS Station, WTTW, and Vice President of News of Telemundo New York.  Balta is the only person to serve twice as President of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) in its nearly 40 years. He was inducted into the organization's Hall Of Fame in 2016. Mr. Balta is also an Adjunct Professor at Columbia College Chicago, teaching journalism courses focused on all aspects of newsroom collaboration in local news coverage. Originally from Northern New Jersey, Balta lives in Chicago with his wife Adriana and children Isabella and Esteban.

This course is designed for people who want to learn more about how solutions journalism can enhance their reporting. Media practitioners who are new to solutions journalism are welcome to join, as well as those who are already practicing solutions journalism and want to elevate their understanding of it.

Students will need access to a computer and Internet in order to complete the course.

A certificate of completion is available for those who meet all of the course requirements, and pay online an administrative fee of $30 (thirty U.S. dollars), using a credit card.

There's no form to apply for the certificate of completion. At the end of the course, the Knight Center team will verify all students and all activities required to qualify for the certificate of completion.

After verifying that students have met the course requirements, the Knight Center will send a message to your email confirming that you have met the requirements and are eligible for the certificate. In this message, we'll also send you instructions on how to pay the administrative fee.

After paying the fee, it will take between three to five business days for you to receive instructions via the course platform's messaging system to download a PDF copy of your certificate. The certificate is only available in PDF format.

To be eligible for a certificate of completion, students must:

• Listen to the weekly video classes and read the weekly readings
• Complete weekly quizzes with a minimum score of 70%. (You can retake the quizzes as many times as needed. Only the highest score will be recorded.)
• Create OR reply to at least one discussion forum each week.

The certificate of completion is not required in order to take the course; students can still take our free online course without purchasing the certificate. No formal course credit of any kind is associated with the certificate.

The certificate is awarded by the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas to attest to the participation in the online course.