SOLUTIONS JOURNALISM: FEATURES OF MATERIAL CREATION AND PROMOTION

Abstract

Solution journalism originates in the «peace journalism» of the 1960s and 1970s and the «public journalism» of the 1990s. At the current stage of development, international experts in the media sphere advise separating journalistic materials from solution journalism according to clear criteria. Solution journalism in Ukraine is a new trend in journalism that arose due to global changes in the communication environment and its direct impact on the role of journalism in the lives of citizens, including Ukrainians, especially during the active development and availability of social networks. There is no universally accepted definition of solution journalism. Most revolve around the idea of linking a description of a problem with an overview of possible or existing solutions. Solution journalism can raise public issues by highlighting local public education issues, but it can also highlight issues on a national scale. Journalists often reach out to audiences to gauge their awareness of an issue or to gather their experiences on how to respond to it. It can make the story more appealing to readers. Solution journalism can also be a good tool for increasing audience engagement, even if only used once or twice, suggesting that it can be–at least in part–a solution to struggling journalism itself. The obvious danger in solutions journalism is not to stop at advocacy and start supporting individuals or organizations. In this article, based on foreign experience, the main criteria for the correspondence of Ukrainian journalistic materials to solutions journalism are analyzed using the comparison method. By monitoring key Ukrainian mass media and analyzing the compliance criteria of publications belonging to solution journalism, a list of recommendations for Ukrainian journalists and students of specialized faculties for creating materials on solution journalism was formed. We see the prospects for further research in forming a clear scientific term, «solutions journalism» in view of both the scientific discourse and the practical experience of journalists. Separately, it is worth paying attention to the presentation of solution journalism materials on various platforms (websites, social networks, messengers) and their visual support in the Ukrainian information space. The effectiveness of solution journalism materials on forming public opinion remains unexplored.