At ideastream, we’re always working hard to keep you informed on 90.3 WCPN, on WVIZ-PBS, on our website, ideastream.org, and on all of our social media channels.
I’ve been impressed since becoming executive editor here in June with the quantity and quality of the work our content team produces, from breaking news to deeply contextual pieces to “driveway moments” that keep you in your car to hear the rest of the story. Well, they used to be driveway moments. With so many of us working from home, they’re more like kitchen table moments now.
But it still isn’t enough. Honestly, it never can be. Dependable news and information are essential to a healthy society. And to bring you more of it, we’re forging partnerships throughout our community.
One of those partnerships is our membership in the Northeast Ohio Solutions Journalism Collaborative (NEOSOJO), which includes 20-plus Northeast Ohio print, radio and television news outlets.
NEOSOJO’s diverse group of reporters and editors are working together to report on the serious impact COVID-19 is having on marginalized people in our region.
So far, there have been stories about people working together to prevent evictions, about advocates working hard to make sure that homeless people and domestic violence survivors are safely housed and about local doctors working hard to build trust in Black communities during a pandemic. That last one, part of a series of stories, was a partnership within a partnership as it brought together NEOSOJO and ideastream’s “Coping with COVID-19” project, funded by the Third Federal Foundation and University Settlement.
And just yesterday on ideastream.org, we presented the first of a series of NEOSOJO stories on the impact of expiring moratoriums on local utility shutoffs. On Monday's Morning Edition, ideastream’s Taylor Haggerty talked with host Amy Eddings about the impact shutoffs will have on customers as the pandemic surges and cold weather hits. You can hear that conversation anytime on our site or on your mobile device with NPROne.
Solutions journalism isn’t just about identifying and reporting on problems. The NEOSOJO stories spotlight solutions, or at least efforts to find solutions. The utilities story, for example, will have several follow ups, and includes a link to a guide on how to get assistance in paying bills and keeping the lights on.
The Solutions Journalism Networkand the Knight Foundation have provided funding for this effort. We’re putting in hard work and a spirit of collaboration. It isn’t about beating the competition. It’s not about being first. It’s about serving you by joining forces and getting you the news and information you need.
To learn more about NEOSOJO, check out the website it just launched — www.neosojo.com — which has all of our solutions stories in one place. It’s made possible by the creative staff at the Cuyahoga County Public Library.
And some of our partners in NEOSOJO will participate in a City Club of Cleveland forumon reimagining journalism! It starts at noon on Dec. 2.
