In 2024 a group of determined UTS Journalism young reporters set off north of Sydney, Australia, to embark on series of regional stories using the principles of Constructive and Solutions Journalism - what has been billed as the 'Journalism of Tomorrow’.

Over several days within the Newcastle and Hunter region, they split up into three teams and fanned out to film and interview farmers, teachers and students, environmental and wetlands campaigners, wine growers, beekeepers, migrants, politicians, queer bar owners and their patrons, art gallery owners and people living with dementia and their carers.

From inspiring new school programs and farming techniques, to future-focused stories about the wine and beekeeping industries, dementia and changing multiculturalism , this multimedia series tackled a wide range of issues including education, immigration, climate change, agriculture, healthcare, climate change and the environment, and the LGBTQIA+ community.

Instead of typically conflict-based reporting, they applied constructive journalism techniques by reporting not just on problems, but on developments and responses to issues, with solutions-driven stories about adaptation and resilience, including contextual, nuanced and diverse racial, class, sexuality and gender perspectives, and still grounded in evidence and expertise. 

Below are their stories.

*The Constructive Journalism in Communities (CJIC) project has been made possible by the philanthropic support of AGL, for regional communities. UTS has maintained full editorial control and independence with any stories published, as per journalistic editorial independence standards.