Solutions Journalism Student Media Challenge Application (2024)

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The Solutions Journalism Network is building a cohort of student newsrooms at colleges and universities for the 2024-25 academic year that will do solutions reporting on the urgent topic of student mental health. The project must focus on reporting stories in their community through a solutions lens. The student newsrooms will learn from each other and share insights from their projects with our growing network of journalists, educators and students. SJN’s goal is to catalyze reporting that looks at both the systemic issues facing communities and potential solutions to help them thrive.

A diversity of student newsrooms by type/location/university will be sought. Independent newsrooms and those from historically under-represented communities are encouraged to apply. The minimum requirement is the newsroom must be willing to learn about and practice solutions journalism as part of the organization’s work. If the newsroom has an advisor/faculty member, that person should be willing to get trained in solutions journalism. Students also must be willing to be trained in solutions journalism and engage in ongoing development. The project may be initiated as part of a class or through student media outlets. However, all work that is published must be completed by students, only with advice by faculty, newsroom advisors and/or professional journalists. The newsrooms will also work to implement a plan to train student editors to train other students to practice solutions journalism.


Why the focus on mental health?

Young people have always been especially vulnerable to mental health issues, and the pandemic and its aftermath only intensified the breadth and depth of their suffering. 
The nation has seen an uptick in  both ‘traditional’ mental health issues -- anxiety, depression, trauma,  suicide, assault, PTSD, loneliness -- as well as mental health issues that arise through other social determinants of health -- racism, neglect, food insecurity, housing instability, economic instability and community violence. 

Students who form the 2024-25 cohort will be building on the successes in covering campus mental health that were made by the eight partners of the 2023-24 Challenge.


NOTE: Previous grantees are ineligible to apply.  
 
We’re looking for proposals that answer questions like:
  • How are communities addressing challenges such as health inequities, food insecurity, campus assaults and other important issues?
  • How would your project benefit students working in your newsroom, as well as others on campus and in the surrounding community?
  • Who is your audience and how will diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) factor into how you cover them?  

U.S.-based student newsrooms that are selected will receive $7,500. The cohort will convene in September 2024 and meet monthly, with the final cohort meeting in May 2025. 

In addition students and faculty advisors from each of the eight schools will meet monthly with an SJN staff member to share details on the progress of the grant, share ideas and work through any challenges. 

Additionally, each newsroom will also be asked to share their experiences with other students and student media outlets on and/or off campus.

Selection criteria:
  • Commitment to rigorous reporting that recognizes the social conditions, systems and factors that impact youth mental health, such as education, economics, race and environment. 
  • Capacity to produce enterprise stories on important topics in your community. 
  • Willingness to engage in regular reporting on this topic from a solutions lens. 
  • Demonstrated service to historically marginalized communities/ newsrooms led by and serving people of color and other diverse groups. 

Newsroom requirements:
  • There is no minimum requirement for stories, but we expect newsrooms to regularly produce solution stories about topics they choose throughout the period of the grant. 
  • Measure the impact of the project with your audience. Newsrooms will receive training and support in developing a strategy for measuring impact, including surveys and focus groups. 
  • Commitment to actively engage in cohort meetings, sharing what you are doing and supporting your peers in the cohort. 
  • Designate a team leader to meet with the cohort lead each month. 
  • The newsroom team should include the designated team leader, such as an advisor, staff member or editor; plus at least 2 other team members committed to using solutions journalism in the newsroom. 
  • Propose a plan to engage with other students and/or the broader community to share what you have learned. This could include activities like class visits, writing blog posts, creating a short training, social media or convening a group of student journalists at other publications or in similar communities to discuss how to incorporate solutions into their reporting. 
  • Carry out those activities within 9 months (September 2024 - May 2025)
  • Applicants must supply the name, office phone number and email address of the university officer or general manager (as in the case of an independent student newsroom) who will be tasked with administering the grant.  No application will be accepted without this information.
 
Initiative offerings: 
  • $7,500 to cover costs related to work for this cohort 
  • Training in solutions journalism for the student newsroom
  • One-to-one support from SJN for each newsroom 
  • Initiative specific informational sessions on a range of topics 
  • Community of practice to exchange ideas and receive feedback

Thinking of applying? Read this first.

This cohort has a two-step application process. The first step is to fill out this form by Friday, March 8 at 8 p.m. Eastern Time. Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed before proceeding to the final application stage.

SJN will be offering two online informational sessions in February. The first will be Wednesday the 14th at noon Eastern. Advance registration will be required. Here’s a link.
The second will be Friday, the 16th at 4 p.m. Eastern. Here’s a link.

For any questions or to discuss project ideas, contact SJN’s Director of Journalism School Partnerships — Michael Davis ([email protected]).

If you need technical support with submitting this application, please email Kristin Merritt ([email protected]) 

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