In the spring of 2023, Alexis Weisend published a revealing how the city of Eugene, Oregon, was skirting the law by evicting the unhoused from encampments without proper notice and aid. The stories won regional and national awards and played an instrumental role in launching her career as an affordable housing and homelessness reporter for The Columbian in Vancouver, Washington. 

Weisend published her stories as a student journalist for the at the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication. Catalyst trains and places student reporters at news outlets around Oregon to contribute solutions-based and watchdog reporting to the local news ecosystem.

“My different editors there—whether with the Catalyst program or with the publications that we're partnering with—they taught me how to use public records and turn data into meaningful articles, not just numbers but something that could have a real effect on the people who read them,” said Weisend. “I think reporting for Catalyst taught me how it's possible to have both empathy and accountability in your stories at the same time and how important that can be in journalism.”

The Catalyst Journalism Project was founded in 2016 by UO journalism instructor Kathryn Thier, professor Nicole Smith Dahmen and associate professor Brent Walth. The three teachers recognized that aligning solutions journalism and watchdog reporting is a powerful approach.  

Thier saw the value in a solutions reporting approach during her experience reporting for the Charlotte Observer, where she realized that readers crave news that offers solutions.

In 2015, Thier taught the first-ever university-level course focused entirely on solutions journalism. "I just got really interested in solutions journalism, in the possibilities that it might hold for helping people to understand more about their communities and their lives and the options for improving society," said Thier, now a postdoctoral fellow at George Mason University.

Catalyst Journalism Project reporters Emma J. Nelson and Emily Rogers interview unhoused people after officials in Eugene, Oregon, evicted them from a campsite. Catalyst reporters have repeatedly revealed problems with Eugene's treatment of unhoused residents while also providing solutions-focused reporting on successful homelessness programs in other cities. Photo credit: Gordon Sturrock

Walth, the Catalyst program director, previously worked as an investigative journalist and learned from Thier about the value of solutions journalism.

“I realized that solutions reporting pairs really well with investigative reporting,” said Walth. “Investigative reporters are seeking impact, and one of the ways that you get impact is to make clear that there's actually a better way to do things.”

The Catalyst Journalism Project pays students to work on long-term reporting projects or assigns them to work for local news organizations. 

“The only requirement is that the stories either have a watchdog feel or they attempt to address potential solutions that are out there,” said Walth. “The whole idea is to pay attention to people who are working to fix things.”

Just this year, Catalyst student reporters Anna Kaminski and Winter Wagner won a first-place regional SPJ award and a national award from the Association of Alternative Newsmedia for a story that took both investigative and a solutions approach to Eugene's lack of mental health services.

In 2023, Walth launched the Catalyst Journalism Project's local reporting initiative to help news outlets fill gaps in their coverage of governments and schools. The initiative has played an important role for Eugene Weekly, the alternative weekly in Eugene, Oregon and a long-time Catalyst partner.

Late last year, Eugene Weekly announced it after company funds were embezzled, and the newspaper was forced to lay off its staff. Catalyst students stepped in to provide the newspaper with local reporting. Eugene Weekly survived the crisis, and Catalyst reporters continue to write for the paper. 

Camilla Mortensen, editor of Eugene Weekly, said the Catalyst Journalism Project was a “lifesaver” and she looks forward to continuing to work with students in the program. 

“One of my favorite things about the partnership is watching these students get their start and then move on to become really good, really ethical, really careful journalists,” said Mortensen. “That's what I want to continue to build upon—not just getting important news stories that help the community, but also building journalists that will continue in that tradition.”

Eugene Weekly in partnership with Catalyst continues to report on the treatment of the unhoused. Catalyst reporter Emily Rogers recently teamed with Eugene Weekly staff writer and a former Catalyst reporter Bentley Freeman to write a about the city of Cottage Grove expelling more than 100 people from campsites and relocating them to a dog park after a deal with a social service agency fell through.

Weisend said the Catalyst Journalism Project not only covers important stories in Oregon, but is mutually beneficial for students and publications. 

“I think that it's models like this where you have to get creative with your production of news and your journalists that this is going to become more of the norm for producing great stories for small but great publications,” said Weisend.

Walth said he volunteers his time with Catalyst because he believes in its mission. The Center for Community News at ̽̽ recently recognized Walth as a faculty champion for his dedication to this innovative project. 

Walth hopes to prepare Catalyst reporters to take on more of the program's editing responsibilities. His other goals for the Catalyst Journalism Project include expanding partnerships with news outlets and creating a radio and data visualization component for students in the future. 

During the 2022 elections, the Catalyst Journalism Project partnered with the Fund for Oregon Rural Journalism initiative to report on Oregon voter sentiments. Catalyst Journalism Project journalists reported from communities around the state to do in-depth, local reporting. 

Executive Director of the Fund for Oregon Rural Journalism Jody Lawrence-Turner said she was impressed with Catalyst student reporters' willingness to ask questions, especially in the current polarized political climate. 

“I was impressed with their fearlessness,” Lawrence-Turner said. “We got tons of great feedback from those stories, not to mention the students were exposed to parts of the state that they had never been to.”

Jack Forrest, who currently works for CNN as a breaking news reporter, was a Catalyst student journalist four years ago. Along with student reporters Sally Segar and Jassy McKinley, Forrest reported a for Euguene Weekly exposing lackluster enforcement of COVID safety rules by Oregon officials that won a first-place regional award from the Society for Professional Journalists.

Forrest said that working as a student reporter was one of the most influential experiences for his professional career. 

“More than anything, I think it gave me a lot of confidence to ask very hard questions and to learn the skills to find the answers to those questions,” said Forrest. 

Forrest said he believes the Catalyst Journalism Project can be particularly beneficial for Oregon where it can fill in the gaps of local news coverage. 

“Local journalism feeds the entire media ecosystem…It's important to have organizations like Catalyst that are creating local reporters and putting them into newsrooms throughout Oregon,” said Forrest. “I think it's truly making a difference.”