Nonprofit newsroom Prism reports on responses to social problems that affect communities most impacted by injustices
The Challenge
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.
The Strategy
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.
The Outcomes
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.
The Lessons
The Future
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.
Learn More
- Ban the Box policies reduce job barriers for formerly incarcerated people by Tamar Sarai August 30th, 2022
- How independent map-drawing commissions are transforming redistricting by Frances Nguyen, April 19th, 2022
- Without federal voting protections, many look to states as the ‘laboratories of democracy’ by Frances Nguyen, April 18th, 2022
- Disaggregation is essential to achieve data justice for Asian Americans by Jenn Fang, May 2, 2022
- A record number of cities used ranked-choice voting this week. Will it make elections more inclusive? by Sravya Tadepalli, November 4, 2021