More Solutions Journalism: DCReport Wants to Empower Readers

"Action Boxes" enable people to do something about issues that concern them.

Earlier I wrote about solutions journalism, a new way for journalists not just to report about problems, but do suggest ways media consumers can do something about them.

Later, I noted that the Christian Science Monitor decided to adopt this new way of reporting the news.

Now another news outlet, DCReport, is doing something similar through what it calls “Action Boxes.”

DCReport is the brainchild of veteran and Pulitzer Prize-winning American reporter David Cay Johnston.

While many know about DCReport for its scoop about Trump’s 2005 tax return, its

bread-and-butter coverage is focused on the minutiae of politics and policy—not presidential scoops.

“Our goal here is to cover what the administration and Congress do, not what they tweet or say they’re going to do,” said Johnston in an interview.

But it’s more than just letting readers know what is happening; DCReport also wants to empower them to do something about it, if they are so inclined.

One of the site’s core features is the “Action Box,” which offers links to official proceedings, contact information for relevant politicians, and other information.

Here’s an example:

In an article on Nieman Lab about DCReport’s new approach, Johnston notes that the idea that news organizations can do more to empower readers to affect political change is an uncomfortable idea for many reporters consider it in conflict with journalistic norms of neutrality.

“The approach for most is to stand back and be apart from all of this stuff. And I just don’t agree with that,” he says, arguing that this approach often makes the information “useless” to readers.

“That’s one of the reasons people have turned away from newspapers,” he says, adding “they’re full of richly reported, detailed, and useless information. We want people to reacquire a sense that this is their government.”

For Johnston, the goal is to help strengthen the connection between people and their government.

“One of the biggest and most important, but unreported stories, in this country is the extent to which our democracy is in trouble because people feel that the federal government is alien to them, that they don’t have any power or influence over it,” he told Nieman Lab.

 “From the moment I started thinking about this, I knew we wanted to show people how to make the government more responsive to their needs. We’re going to empower people.”

What do you think? Would this improve journalism? Or is it crossing a line that shouldn’t be crossed?