Editor's note: Catherine Cheney presented on solutions journalism at the SwitchPoint 2016 conference in Saxapahaw, North Carolina. This article is adapted from her speech about her personal experience as a journalist and should not be taken as official Devex policy.
On Wednesday, United Nations director general Michael Møller will meet with journalists in London to urge them to offer “constructive alternatives in the current stream of news” and uncover “solutions that inspire us to action.” The U.N. is joining forces with Constructive Voices, a project from the U.K.-based National Council for Voluntary Organizations, to urge the media to help combat public apathy toward world events.
Across the development community, there is a growing push for solutions-oriented storytelling. I focused on this last week at SwitchPoint 2016, a conference meant to highlight “great ideas, tools, and people making a real difference in the world” organized by IntraHealth International in Saxapahaw, North Carolina. I talked with professionals in humanitarian response, international development and global health about the benefits for society if the media covered the responses to problems as rigorously as they do the problems themselves.
About the author
Catherine Cheneycatherinecheney
Catherine Cheney is the Senior Editor for Special Coverage at Devex. She leads the editorial vision of Devex’s news events and editorial coverage of key moments on the global development calendar. Catherine joined Devex as a reporter, focusing on technology and innovation in making progress on the Sustainable Development Goals. Prior to joining Devex, Catherine earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Yale University, and worked as a web producer for POLITICO, a reporter for World Politics Review, and special projects editor at NationSwell. She has reported domestically and internationally for outlets including The Atlantic and the Washington Post. Catherine also works for the Solutions Journalism Network, a non profit organization that supports journalists and news organizations to report on responses to problems.
