About the New York & Michigan Solutions Journalism Collaborative - New York & Michigan Solutions Journalism Collaborative

Our Mission

The New York & Michigan Solutions Journalism Collaborative (NYMI SOJO) is a group of news, academic and community organizations pooling time, talent and resources to cover chronic problems in our communities with a solutions lens. It is modeled on other successful news collaboratives supported by the Solutions Journalism Network.

We work to report on and reflect the diverse communities we serve. We launched in 2020 with one initiative: solutions journalism on caregiving. Our inaugural project, Invisible Army: Caregiving on the Front Lines, has produced rigorous reporting on successful responses to challenges experienced by caregivers and older adults. We are expanding our coverage area to include health equity, or the state in which everyone has a fair and just opportunity to attain their highest level of health. We are raising money for resources to help us produce these stories.

Our Members

The New York & Michigan Solutions Journalism Collaborative consists of news organizations and community partners.

Members of the news collaborative in New York include the Democrat and Chronicle, Minority Reporter, La Voz, WXXI and News10NBC in Rochester, and The Buffalo News.

Members of the news collaborative in Michigan include Bridge Michigan, Detroit Free Press, Detroit Public Television, Hometown Life, The Detroit News, Livingston Daily and Planet Detroit. Four news organizations represented by New Michigan Media are also involved: The Arab American News, Latino Press, Michigan Korean Weekly and The Detroit Jewish News. Community partners include Front Edge Publishing, Hannan Center, Just Ask Talk Show, Michigan State University, and Wayne State University.

Funding

The goal of the collaborative is to provide an essential addition to the media landscape that will grow to include other media organizations and become self-sustaining. We believe a collaboration between these partner organizations across platforms, audiences and sizes will strengthen the local and regional media’s capacity to cover issues of greatest concern. It will also strengthen the media’s capability to engage meaningfully with the audiences they serve.

The collaborative is a nonpartisan news organization committed to transparency and editorial independence. We do not support or advocate for any particular idea, model, organization, or agenda. We rely on financial support from the public, charitable foundations, and philanthropists. If you believe in our mission, please consider making a donation.

The series on caregivers is made possible through a grant from the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation and Solutions Journalism Network. The foundation makes grants in Western New York and Southeast Michigan, honoring Wilson’s connections to both Buffalo and Detroit. Our work also has been funded by the Knight Foundation, the Chronicle of Philanthropy, Metro Health Foundation, the Health Foundation for Western and Central New York and the Greater Rochester Health Foundation.

Do you have a tip? Would you like to support our work? Donate here. To discuss sponsorship opportunities, please contact Monica Williams at monica.williams@nymisojo.com.