{"id":345,"date":"2021-03-23T19:43:02","date_gmt":"2021-03-23T19:43:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/uocatalyst.com\/?page_id=345"},"modified":"2023-04-28T07:18:35","modified_gmt":"2023-04-28T14:18:35","slug":"about","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/catalystjournalism.uoregon.edu\/about\/","title":{"rendered":"About"},"content":{"rendered":"[vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”586″ alignment=”center”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text width=”800″ align=”center”]\n
The Catalyst Journalism Project\u00a0<\/b>is a reporting, teaching, research, and service initiative at the University of Oregon that brings together investigative reporting and solutions journalism. Investigative reporting<\/strong> fulfills the essential accountability role underlying press freedoms. Solutions journalism<\/strong> combats growing cynicism and mistrust of the media by demonstrating even the thorniest social challenges can provide opportunity for hope.\u00a0Standing alone, investigative journalism can sometimes leave citizens unsure about how to respond. Solutions journalism can help bridge that gap through stories that can improve audiences\u2019 feelings of trust in media and self-efficacy about societal problems with the result of making our communities better places in which to live. By combining the two methods, journalism can put greater pressure on leaders to solve problems by showing readers that problems are not intractable. Catalyst serves our state through reporting stories that provide accountability, deliver transparency, and generate positive impact in our communities.

American journalism faces a crisis as news organizations shrink and the public trust in the news they receive from national sources diminishes. In Oregon, community journalism still enjoys a high degree of trust, but local newsrooms across Oregon say they can no longer meet the basic information needs of the public. At the same time, University of Oregon student journalists are eager to gain experience providing public-service reporting.\u00a0Launched in 2016, Catalyst was founded with a commitment to the public service and social responsibility roles of journalism.<\/div>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_section full_width=”stretch_row” css=”.vc_custom_1632351431913{background-color: #dddddd !important;}”][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]\n

OUR PROJECTS<\/h2>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1632351453123{border-radius: 15px !important;}” width=”800″ align=”center”]\n

Teaching<\/h3>\n

We have a focus on experiential learning by introducing solutions journalism techniques and investigative. Student work leads to published stories, not just hypothetical class exercises. By exposing students to this novel approach of investigations+solutions, we prepare SOJC graduates to enter the journalism field, positioning them to become leaders as journalism seeks new ways of engaging audiences who have lost trust in the news media and are discouraged by doom-and-gloom-only stories.<\/p>\n

We offer four Catalyst courses: J463\/563 Investigative Reporting, J463\/563 Solutions Journalism, J463\/563 Data Journalism, and J408\/508 Catalyst Workshop. All of our courses are cross-listed for both undergraduate and graduate students.<\/p>\n

Students engaged in Catalyst will:<\/p>\n