Choose to be Curious Ep. #297: Curiosity Lessons from Solutions Journalism, with Mónica Quesada Cordero
Sep 17, 2025
Mónica Quesada Cordero, co-founder of el Colectivo 506 and an award-winning photojournalist, shares her insights on solutions journalism. She discusses how curiosity drives journalistic integrity and tackles the challenges of changing reader habits in Costa Rica. Mónica dives into complex reporting on issues like water access and emphasizes the importance of asking the right questions to foster honesty in interviews. Her engaging analogies illustrate curiosity's significance in both journalism and life, making for an enlightening conversation.
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Complexity Restores Trust
- Solutions journalism embraces complexity to give readers textured, trustworthy reporting.
- That complexity restores hope by showing ordinary people iterating on real responses to problems.
Five Years Of Persistence
- Monica celebrates El Colectivo 506 reaching its five-year milestone despite sustainability challenges.
- She emphasizes the difficulty of running a media outlet and staying engaged and hopeful.
Curiosity Comes In Many Emotions
- Journalists are naturally curious but approach curiosity with different emotions like anger or hope.
- This diversity means journalism resists a single stereotype and thrives on nosiness and questioning.