The opening segment of the 2025 RJI Student Innovation Competition Awards Show won a bronze Telly Award for Best Show Opening Segment from The Telly Awards Judging Council. Watch the opening segment: www.youtube.com/watch?v=PulZ....

Our Science Reporting Navigator, created with @rjionline.bsky.social, is designed to meet reporters where they are. Not sure where to start? Navigate lessons through course-style learning paths and let the journey unfold. 🧵 www.theopennotebook.com/science-repo...

The Reynolds Journalism Institute at the Missouri School of Journalism has selected the 2026 class of RJI Professional Innovation Fellows, who'll work to build free, open-source resources for journalists. lnkd.in/gRSAuYir.

The Maine Monitor team wanted to experiment with their vertical video strategy to increase reach and gain new viewers. The Innovation in Focus team measured analytics and audience feedback on three different styles of vertical videos to see what works best for the Monitor.

This legislative session, more states are introducing and passing policies aimed at supporting local newsrooms, from direct funding to workforce programs. One approach is emerging more frequently: tax credits. rjionline.org/news/more-st...

SURVEY: When audiences see "no comment" in a story, one in five trust the reporting less, while nearly 40% assume the source is hiding something. Dig deeper: rjionline.org/news/journal.... #NoComment

Is vertical video an easily accessible way for journalists to tell stories? Innovation in Focus student staffers Ishrat Madiha and Annie Goodykoontz spoke with Alexa Stone, vertical video creator at the Kansas City Star, to discuss strategies for launching vertical content in the newsroom

Nicole Lewis and @lamthuyvo.bsky.social built a resource to help local journalists boost civic engagement by developing and implementing a theory of change for their work. Learn more about their CJS session: summit.collaborativejournalism.org/sessions/ses....

Attending #CJS2026 on May 14-15? Wish to learn more about RJI and partnerships? Set up a one-on-one with Kat Duncan, RJI director of innovation.

Spread, a new method for connecting newsrooms and social media creators, won the grand prize in the 2026 RJI Student Innovation Competition. Meet the top three teams, which includes the Fan Favorite Award winner: rjionline.org/news/spread-....

Join us to learn who won the top prize of $10,000. This year’s challenge: meet an information need in the community while building a collaborative relationship between trusted ‘influencer’ individuals and a newsroom. The reveal will be streamed live on Facebook: www.facebook.com/reynoldsjour....

RJI and Wordslaw are seeking newsrooms to pilot storytelling events with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. These events can help build relationships with IDD communities and inform more inclusive reporting on education, healthcare, and more. Apply now: bit.ly/IDDstorytell....

Randy Picht discusses the challenges and solutions for rural news sustainability with Corinne Colbert of the Athens County Independent, John Montgomery of Issue Media Group, and Tim Stauffer of The Iola Register. Watch: www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbBk....

This replicable program teaches journalists how to build genuine relationships with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, providing a structured way to listen and share stories in their own words. rjionline.org/news/put-the...

Learn how digital journalists are using the Wayback Machine to uncover content that has been deleted, corrected, banned, hacked or even left unchanged. Via JournalismUK.

According to Zach Toombs, @evidentmedia.org’s executive director and founder, the ICEtracking.org database is designed to make investigative reporting on mass detentions a more efficient and user-friendly process, even when it comes to the presentation of the final product.

"Write a postcard to someone you know who loves Eudora, even if they may no longer live there," writes RJI student innovation staffer Annie Goodykoontz. "We then mailed them out with the hope of reaching new readers across the nation." rjionline.org/news/driving...

Job opening: The Innovation in Focus Editor at RJI leads short-term experiments and projects with news partners across the country to test innovative ideas, tech and methods of storytelling. To learn more, visit hr.missouri.edu/job-openings and scroll to Staff Positions. Search for job ID 59029.

The Innovation in Focus team will share key takeaways from engagement experiments conducted with @comissourian.bsky.social and Eudora Times. These projects explored creative methods to foster deeper connections between local newsrooms and their communities. Join us: umsystem.zoom.us/meeting/regi....

Join @theopennotebook.bsky.social's Rachel Zamzow and Kate Fishman for hands-on training on how to use the Science Reporting Navigator to bring science into your everyday reporting. 6 p.m. ET Friday, March 27. Registration is free and open to all: go.spj.org/event-regist....

The Innovation in Focus experiments lasted just two-weeks, but the results were immediate. Some teams brought in between $1,500 and $5,000 in new revenue while others gained valuable insight into which messages don’t resonate with their supporters.

RJI is partnering with Open Vallejo to build a resource that creates alerts based on info from police scanners. The new tool would mitigate constant human monitoring while also being user-friendly and accessible. Help us make it useful and accessible. Take the survey: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

I honestly can't think of a better place to be home to @newsmediahelpdesk.org. We're located at @rjionline.bsky.social and work with students at @mujschool.bsky.social. Here's Editor & Publisher's write-up on our free resource designed to help news publishers.

"There wasn’t a resource that put all the information for news publishers to get help with this challenge," said @leahbecerra.com, project director of the @newsmediahelpdesk.org. "So that’s kind of where the idea started.”

The Innovation in Focus Editor at the Reynolds Journalism Institute leads short-term experiments and projects with news partners across the country to test innovative ideas, tech and methods of storytelling. To learn more, click the link below and scroll to Staff Positions. Search for job ID 59029.

The Pivot Fund pairs funding with wrap-around services, such as coaching, developing strategies for building audience trust, and selecting publishing platforms and CMS tools — and advocates for rethinking how journalism itself is designed, defined and supported. Story by RJI Fellow Monica Williams.

RJI Fellow Cara Kuhlman, in partnership with ONA, will conduct a workshop on April 16 to help newsrooms launch community-focused walking tours. The session covers the strategy behind utilizing tours for storytelling and revenue generation, based on her RJI project, "A Tour Guide for Journalists."

Marie D. De Jesús, director of Pictures of the Year, will participate in a panel this weekend at SXSW focusing on the critical need for transparency in visual storytelling. "When the authenticity of images can no longer be assumed, transparency becomes essential," said De Jesús.

RJI is partnering with Open Vallejo to create a resource that creates alerts based on info from police scanners. The goal is to build a tool that mitigates constant human monitoring while also being user-friendly and accessible. Help us better understand how to build this tool: bit.ly/ScannerSurvey.

I didn’t make many True/False films this years, but for the best of reasons: Two days spent with the talented young culture writers of @rjionline.bsky.social, thanks to @rjritzel.bsky.social. I taught what I’ve learned, and took in as much of their hope as I could hold. The future looks bright.

The proposed FAA Part 108 rule, which establishes a standardized framework for Beyond Visual Line of Sight drone operations, will reshape the U.S. airspace system. Public perception is mixed, writes Dominick Lee.

Innovation in Focus' Ishrat Madiha spoke with Gabrielle Contesti to learn how NowKalamazoo uses creative in-person strategies to deepen community ties and media literacy. Contesti also shares how other small newsrooms can replicate these efforts.

The 2025-26 RJI Fellows will present their projects at 11 a.m. CT Thursday, March 5, on Zoom. Watch demos of each Fellow's resource and ask questions. These tools, programs and platforms were built to address a current need in journalism. Register today: umsystem.zoom.us/webinar/regi....

Introducing Audacity Media Lab, which provides a framework and toolkit for journalists to produce impact-driven stories that address real-world community problems through a theory-of-change model. The tools and resources were developed by RJI Fellows Nicole Lewis and @lamthuyvo.bsky.social.

RJI Fellow Tara Francis Chan has launched Powering News, a free resource hub designed for cooperative, staff-run nonprofit and democratic newsrooms. The project features the first national survey-based database of 35-plus worker-friendly newsrooms. rjionline.org/news/announc...

RJI Fellow Cara Kuhlman created "A Tour Guide for Journalists," a free resource for local and independent journalists ready to take their storytelling outside. The guide covers everything from why walking tours work as a journalism strategy to how to plan, launch and measure your first pilot.

Introducing RJI Fellow Monica Williams' Grants for Journalists, a database curating funding opportunities for journalists and newsrooms. Here's how to use the site: rjionline.org/news/introdu....

Covering Immigration: RJI Fellow Claudia Yaujar-Amaro built a free, bilingual toolkit that gives any journalist or newsroom in the U.S. access to legal glossaries, verification frameworks and ethical reporting guides. rjionline.org/news/coverin...

For one week, journalism students create or expand on each newsroom's digital strategies and provide training on key tools, with particular focus this year on incorporating AI to streamline processes without creating content.

"Enter/Exit: Trauma-Informed Praxis for Visual Journalism" includes "essays, interviews, case studies and creative contributions exploring topics such as informed consent, trauma and body language, anonymous portraiture, and more," write RJI Fellows Sarah Blesener and Jennifer Jacklin-Stratton.

Four international graduate students from @mujschool.bsky.social have been selected as 2026 RJI Student Innovation Fellows. This summer, each Fellow will spend 12 weeks helping a news outlet create or expand upon innovative projects that address a particular need in community journalism.

What separates a "good" grant application from a "great" one? RJI Fellow Monica Williams asked the people who actually make the final decision.

"With more than 1 million registered drones in the U.S. since the end of 2024, the implications of a total ban would be seen as devastating to the multiple industries that have adopted and been revolutionized by DJI drones," writes Dom Lee, professor of drone journalism at @mujschool.bsky.social.

RJI Fellow Cara Kuhlman, who’ll publish "A Tour Guide for Journalists" in March, recommends four city locations – found in cities across the U.S. – where news organizations can focus their coverage.

"Rather than guessing what resonates with readers," writes Steve Baragona, "the platform provides real-time analytics that help editors and reporters understand their audience and adjust coverage accordingly — turning hunches into actionable intelligence." Via @newsmediahelpdesk.org

Innovation in Focus' Ishrat Madiha recently spoke with Jenna Spinelle and Brandon Stover, who created a curated list of podcast episodes educators could use in their classrooms. Here's their advice to educators who struggle with adding podcasts into their curriculums.

Collecting first-party data doesn't have to be boring. Read about how Admiral helped Golf.com collect user data in a way that readers actually enjoy.

Asking key questions when evaluating studies can help improve the quality of reporting about research, writes Susan Stellin, MPH. Here are seven questions to consider when interpreting research about drugs and addiction: rjionline.org/news/evaluat....

RJI and the @localnewsimpact.bsky.social Consortium today launched "Commissioning a Local News Ecosystem Assessment: An Operational Toolkit," a resource to streamline research into the forces and players that shape local news.

Measuring impact is crucial for nonprofit newsrooms to secure funding and demonstrate how their work effects change. Here are four strategies for measuring community impact. By RJI Fellows Nicole Lewis and Lam Thuy Vo. Read on: rjionline.org/news/when-it....