Solutions now Africa, MCI newsroom unveiled to change the African narrative through storytelling
Drake Nyamugabwa
Solution Now Africa a new platform has been launched to disrupt stereotypical news and storytelling about Africa by helping journalists develop a fresh reporting style beyond framing Africa through conflict, disease, poverty, poor leadership, terrorism, political divisions, and endemic corruption among others to retell stories through solution journalism with responses to community challenges. The Media Challenge Newsroom was also officially launched as a working hub to execute the different news projects.
During the launch of the platform held on 1st July 2022 at Tirupati Mall in Kabalagala, Kampala, the Chief Executive Officer Mpindi Abaasi, in championing for solution journalism, he is optimistic that Journalist will be reporting about working solutions that address community challenges as opposed to public relations news.
"As you go through university, no one teaches you how to report working solutions in the community. It's either Public Relations or hard news that focuses on the problem. But in solutions journalism, you get to ask who’s doing something about it and how does it work?" he said
While talking through selected journalists in mainstream journalists about what solutions journalism means and why they should consider adding it to their day-to-day storytelling, the CEO Abaas pictured above told them that Solution journalism is all about systemic responses to the community challenges that have worked where journalists set the agenda that shows that our continent has working models and innovations.
"It is not only journalists that must buy into the idea of solutions journalism. The public should be inculcated in reframing narratives, for they spread information faster than journalists can," he said
The Executive Director at Africa No Filter, Moky Makura in a presentation at the launch said that the new project seeks to set an agenda that brings the influence back to Africa through exposing the available innovations to Africa’s problems.
She tasked journalists to have the responsibility to reflect on what is happening in our countries while analyzing the type of narrative in storytelling.
“There is an increasing body of evidence that shows people want more inspiring, uplifting human interest stories and content they can relate to. If journalists want to remain current, they need to up their skills and write what their audience wants to read, and at the moment, it’s news that goes far beyond the journalism adage that ‘if it bleeds, it leads.” she said
The theme of the panel discussion was: “Narratives and Frames of Hope: the place of solutions journalism in telling African Stories”
Ruona J. Meyer, Africa Initiative Manager, Solution Journalism Network in a panel discussion highlighted that as opposed to public relations, solutions journalism covers both the limitations and the insights.
"There is a big appetite for solutions journalism not only for journalists but also the audiences. Solutions journalism makes you sit back and think of your biases. You realise people want to know the other side," she said
