The Better Government Association is a nonprofit organization that has been serving Chicago and Illinois for over 100 years, with an advocacy arm and a respected newsroom dedicated to investigative work. To separate the advocacy branch of the BGA from its journalism, the newsroom created the Illinois Answers Project brand with a new focus on solutions journalism.
As part of the Accelerator, the news organization’s leadership team clarified its goal to go from producing weekly stories to creating sharp, focused, deep solutions and investigative journalism that holds the powerful to account and changes lives and laws. With this clear coal in mind, they created an Impact Tracker that enabled them to understand where their work was having the most impact.
change in format of Impact Tracker
Changing lives and laws by investigating responses to systemic problems and holding the powerful to account across Chicago and Illinois was not language we had before.
Rachel Aretakis, state and solutions editor and a team leader for Illinois Answers Project
The Illinois Answers Project also sought to better understand their audience. Through a survey designed by Medill, they obtained quantitative and qualitative data from their readers that will help them to better serve their audience and grow their impact.
They found they have a highly engaged young audience, which was a surprise to the team. The research also showed the audience was overwhelmingly white, which will provide the leaders with a roadmap for making diversity a priority. This knowledge will move them more quickly from an attitude of “we should make a change” to one in which diversity in staffing and content is more urgent.
increase in Illinois Answers Project leaders' self-reported competency in research and insights by the program's conclusion
The Illinois Answers Project team leaders for the project agreed that the best part of the program was the opportunity to take time away from the newsroom to evaluate top priorities. In the day-to-day workings of the newsroom, editors are constantly putting out fires. The leaders found that the dedicated time at Northwestern once a month gave them an opportunity to break through the noise of the newsroom, break down problems and find solutions in their own newsroom.