Fixes looks at solutions to social problems and why they work.  Fixes looks at solutions to social problems and why they work.  This is a follow-up to last Friday’s column revisiting social change organizations that grew in 2011.  On Friday, I did a recap of stories that we had featured in Fixes over the past year ― and I was surprised to discover that many of the organizations we’d written about had managed to expand their work, even in a difficult economy and political context. Looking back at the range of changes that had occurred during the past year, I was reminded of the remark by Robert Kennedy: “Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”  In this modest sampling of changes, ripples were clearly being sent forth in multiple directions. In fact, some of the changes could be described as small waves ― they included measurable progress mitigating homelessness, improving the foster care system, reducing rural poverty, addressing health disparities, and alleviating a variety of other problems. In the comments, readers expressed appreciation for being afforded this view of reality. Janet, from Salt Lake City, wrote: “Thank you for this summary of wonderful work being done throughout the world. I needed this news.” Marcia, from California, commented that she planned to use the stories to stimulate action among people she knew. “Since democracy begins locally, I will share your column with local leaders in my small community, which has a large low-income, uneducated parent population and high unemployment as well as a strong community spirit to promote the common welfare.” She added: “Responsibility for action is too often shoved off to elected officials, bureaucrats and not assumed by local citizens.”  A reader named Bdcbrooklyngirl added that the column was a welcome counterpoint to the “unending gush of we’re-going-to-Hell-in-a-handbasket I feel bombarded with daily.” She asked why there couldn’t be more reporting about solutions in the news. “Bringing these things to the forefront of our national conversation could be the biggest and most effective single change yet,” she commented. “It certainly couldn’t hurt.”  Each week in Fixes, readers make similar comments about the relative scarcity of solution-focused stories in the news and their desire for more of them. It’s a sentiment that is shared by many. In a 1997 study of attitudes toward the press, the nonprofit polling and research group Public Agenda found that 79 percent of respondents agreed with the statement: “A reporter’s job is to cover bad news.” And, in 2008, the Associated Press published a study (pdf) which found that young consumers of news felt “debilitated by information overload and unsatisfying news experiences.”  “Adding to news fatigue among these participants was the widespread belief that ‘all news today is negative,’” the report noted. “Over and over again in the study, the negativity of news ― tragedy, crisis, war, terror ― added to the desire to tune out.” (p.43) “The implication for the news industry,” the researchers added, was to “counter the audience’s anxiety and overload with compelling content delivered in innovative ways.” (p.44)  Obviously, we think that solutions should be investigated and examined more often in the news ― or we wouldn’t be writing this column. But we recognize that journalists also have to be especially mindful to avoid reporting that could be construed as advocacy. (There’s already enough unadulterated opinion ― even propaganda ― that passes for news today. As Daniel Patrick Moynihan is reputed to have said: “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.”) So when we draw attention to organizations because we think there’s something they’re doing right, as opposed to wrong, we try to be extra thorough in our reporting ― giving more weight to evidence than arguments of the he-said-she-said or ideological variety.  By their nature, solution-oriented stories tend to be forward-looking ― we usually explore ideas we believe have potential to grow, as opposed to events that occurred in the past ― so there is always considerable scope to get it wrong, and that adds to the challenge. My big fear is writing about something I think is sensible, effective and efficient only to discover that it’s wrong-headed, harmful and wasteful. Feedback from readers is a big help. In every column, I learn from readers’ criticisms, experiences and expertise.  As readers have noted, solutions remain an under-represented part of the news ― particularly given the astonishing changes that have occurred around the world in recent years. Over the past two or three decades, millions of organizations have sprouted up globally to tackle problems in new ways ― doing everything from protecting marine life, grasslands and forests, advancing rights and opportunities for women, gays and lesbians, disabled people and ethnic minorities, organizing to overthrow dictators, and inventing or restructuring institutions to deliver things like fresh water, health care, education, financial services and electricity to the world’s poor.  The collective explosion of nonprofits, nongovernmental organizations, social-purpose businesses, “benefit corporations,” dot-orgs, dot-nets, and so forth, has been described by scholars as a major global “power shift.” Bill Drayton, the founder of Ashoka, the leading fellowship of social entrepreneurs, has coined these changes the rise of the “citizen sector.” The author Paul Hawken believes that the sheer number of organizations and people pursuing social change represents the “largest movement the world has ever seen.” But unlike business people, movie makers, scientists or home gardeners, there’s still no section where readers can regularly expect to find news about their efforts.  The majority of publishers, editors and reporters contend that the primary role of journalism is to expose wrongdoing. The general public also supports this function. But, today, along with all the other changes in media, it’s fair to say that what is sometimes called solutions journalism should be seen as a legitimate branch of reporting ― one that needs to be held to the same standards of accuracy and professionalism as other forms (rather than seen as a kind of fluffy feel-good feature to be offered, say, during the holiday season).  Read previous contributions to this series.  Journalism is a feedback mechanism to help society self-correct. We know from behavioral science that information about a problem alone is rarely sufficient to generate corrective action. People need to know what they can do ― and how. That doesn’t mean including a little “good news” now and them, but regularly presenting people with innovative ideas and realistic pathways and possibilities that remain outside their view frame. In this sense, solutions journalism needs to be interwoven with traditional journalism ― it rounds out the story, so to speak.  Without it, society suffers. Over the past 35 years, Americans’ confidence in virtually every major institution ― medicine, education, corporations, organized labor and religion, the press, and all three branches of government ― has declined markedly. (Only the military has risen in esteem.) “[The baby boomers] initial suspicion of the Pentagon and two presidents, Johnson and Nixon, spread like kudzu into a general cynicism about all established institutions,” the journalist Michael Kinsley has written. “This reflexive and crippling cynicism is now shared across the political spectrum.”  In Public Opinion, the journalist Walter Lippmann commented, “The way in which the world is imagined determines at any particular moment what men will do.” The media plays a big part in how people imagine reality; journalists shape perceptions by what they choose to highlight and what they overlook. Reporters will always be needed to play the crucial watchdog role ― uncovering malfeasance, corruption and betrayals of trust. But increasingly, there is a new problem that the press needs to be addressing as well ― it’s not so much about people doing terrible things that are hidden from view, it’s about people doing remarkable things that are hidden from view. John Locke wrote, “It is one thing to show a man that he is in error, and another to put him in possession of truth.”  In that spirit, we urge you to keep reading, keep sending us ideas, and keep being critical ― holding us to the highest standards of journalism. And as Caroline, from Brooklyn wrote, “Kudos to all [the] organizations, and the people who have made positive change in their communities. May 2012 be even brighter!”  Join Fixes on Facebook and follow updates on twitter.com/nytimesfixes.  David Bornstein is the author of “How to Change the World,” which has been published in 20 languages, and “The Price of a Dream: The Story of the Grameen Bank,” and is co-author of “Social Entrepreneurship: What Everyone Needs to Know.” He is the founder of dowser.org, a media site that reports on social innovation.
Our crises and problems are well covered in the media, but solutions to those problems often aren't. That can change.