Prism: Reporting on solutions to racial gerrymandering

Prism was established in 2019 as a nonprofit newsroom led by journalists of color to report on the lived experiences of the communities most impacted by injustice, to disrupt the status quo media landscape and to inform movements for social justice.

In the face of growing threats to democracy, solutions journalism provides a way for newsrooms to go beyond reporting on barriers to voting, to examining the ways people are making significant progress in expanding meaningful democratic participation. Solutions journalism is rigorous, evidence-based reporting into what policies and efforts are making an impact and what we can learn from them.  Paired with reporting that illuminates problems, solutions journalism helps news organizations tell a fuller, more accurate story.

As part of the Solution Journalism Network’s Advancing Democracy Project, Prism produced a three-part series that searched for solutions to partisan and racial gerrymandering in districts across the U.S. The series dug into ways communities have had promising successes in preserving the power of the vote, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.

Prism has been successful in empowering BIPOC and other communities with information and strategies that can reshape their lived experiences for the better, such as reporting on successful efforts to blunt the impacts of racial gerrymandering. Prism produced an hour-long panel discussion examining how while voting is a vital tool for political change, it’s not the only way to fight for social justice.  It also increased its revenue through its solutions reporting by securing significant funding to continue its solutions work around democracy.

Prism successfully explored the dense subject of voting rights, particularly when it comes to the power of the vote, producing reporting in comprehensible, accessible, and interesting chunks without losing nuance or rigor. Solutions journalism was used to create deep accountability journalism by challenging the status quo with examples of what’s working elsewhere.

Prism continues to produce solutions stories related to democracy and economic issues. Prism recently partnered with Next City, a nonprofit news outlet, to launch the Solutions for Economic Equity partnership, through which they are highlighting how low-income and marginalized BIPOC communities are cultivating, building, and fighting for economic justice in cities across the U.S.