Two Missouri School of Journalism students are starting their semesters with the Reynold Journalism Institute’s Innovation in Focus program, working with organizations across the U.S. to implement new strategies and techniques in journalism.

The program revolves around a monthly newsletter that shares how journalists are innovating and experimenting in their industries. Student staffers are hired each semester to bring unique ideas to the table, focusing on what they’re passionate about. Working with them is Emily Lytle, Innovation in Focus Editor, who helps them brainstorm ideas and connect with organizations.

“I’m excited to see the student staffers implement their own ideas and see the impact it has on a newsroom,” Lytle said. “One of my favorite parts about working with students on Innovation in Focus is that moment where they realize they can be in journalism and be a problem-solver. It’s cool to see the students realize how much they can make a difference in a newsroom.”

In addition to working with students, Lytle also works on her own innovation projects, recently collaborating with KBIA 91.3 FM and Kansas Public Radio to create a fundraising competition during the University of Missouri and University of Kansas football game. Her goal is to show journalists that experiments are possible in any newsroom.

“My favorite part of the program is showing especially smaller and under-resourced newsrooms that they can experiment in a short period of time with a small budget,” Lytle said. “Projects [that] expand the reach and the impact of the journalism that we’re producing but also make sure that journalism is part of the fabric of the community itself — those are the kinds of projects that I’m excited about.”

Putting trust on the map

Junior Taylor Bowman is working with inewsource, an investigative journalism nonprofit in San Diego, to experiment with mapping tools to help the organization reach a new audience in a community already plentiful in advocacy groups. She is particularly interested in segmenting audiences and connecting to individual communities through up-and-coming strategies.

“With any organization going into a community they’re not already in, there’s going to be a pipeline of trust that needs to be built,” Bowman said. “With these kinds of tools, and from what I’ve seen personally of what [inewsource] has to offer, the community will [have] open arms.”

Lytle was Bowman’s instructor in a fundamentals of writing course. Bowman recalled how passionate Lytle was about Innovation in Focus, which inspired her to apply for Innovation in Focus.

“[Lytle] has been one of my staple professors,” Bowman said. “Not only is she a great communicator in the classroom but outside of the classroom as well. She knows how to be there for her students, professionally and personally. When she reached back out to me, I said, ‘Send me that application. I’d love to work with you.’ It was a no-brainer.”

Bowman is also interested in how social media can foster connections digitally and explores this through a lifestyle TikTok account on her own. Her experience online carries into her journalistic work, and she hopes to incorporate it into multiple projects with Innovation in Focus.

“My favorite part of the program is getting to work with different organizations,” Bowman said. “I know we’re gonna work with different ones across the semester, but networking is a huge thing in journalism, so not only am I building my networking skills, but I’m also building those skills to implement into my journalistic career.”

Outside of Innovation in Focus, Bowman is working in broadcast journalism and has been involved with the Missourian, Mizzou Broadcast Operations and KOMU-8. She finds her experience on and off screen beneficial to her career.

“I’m very grateful that students are allowed to be a part of [the Missouri School of Journalism’s professional media outlets],” Bowman said. “With Innovation in Focus, I get that same experience on the opposite side of the screen but behind the scenes, which is equally as important as being on screen. It provides more of a basis of what we need to do as journalists — to be that impartial conduit of information for your audience.”

Brewing engagement with local news

Sophomore Ishrat Madiha is teaming up with Johnson County Post in the Kansas City area in an effort to reach a younger audience. They are working towards a collaboration with a local coffee shop that involves a punch card with a QR code connecting customers to a LinkTree with information about the news organization and local elections. Through this, Madiha is learning how people navigate to the Johnson County Post website, gaining insights into the audience that they reach.

Madiha’s goal with the coffee shop punch card is to allow customers to continuously be exposed to information about Johnson County Post, increasing audience activity and subscriptions. She will design the punch card and LinkTree page in addition to leading the communication with the news site.

“My favorite part of the program has been working with these smaller newsrooms,” Madiha said. “It is incredibly motivating to see how committing a couple of hours, resources and hard work into a project can turn around a newsroom that is passionate about the work they do and the people they serve. Getting to be a small part of their success feels great.”

Madiha’s excitement for the remainder of the semester not only comes from opportunities to be connected with news organizations but also stems from her ideas about how they can utilize unique tools to reach their goals.

“I’ve gained so much knowledge, skills and insights since starting my work here at Innovation in Focus,” Madiha said. “From watching [Lytle], I’ve become more efficient at professional communication. This is one of the biggest things I will carry into the future of working in the journalism field, as this career depends largely on people and communication. I am learning a lot more here than I would learn by just writing for a paper: I am learning the ins and outs of publishing, the inner workings of a news organization and the multiple technical, analytical and human working parts of organizations that lead to success.”

Lytle shares Madiha’s passion for the project, valuing not only the connections created with Innovation in Focus but also the hands-on aspect of the program.

“I love to see how the students can take ownership of their own projects,” Lytle said. “That’s what the newsrooms love, too — a young person coming in with lots of energy and ideas. We often say that we do practical innovation at RJI, and that’s because we’re doing things with you. We’re not just off, tinkering, trying something out in our offices here at RJI, we’re doing the work with you and applying it to real scenarios in newsrooms.”

The students will continue to work on their current projects and partake in other innovative experiments throughout the semester. To follow their progress, subscribe to the Innovation in Focus newsletter. Students interested in applying for the Innovation in Focus program can reach out to lytle@rjionline.org.

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Cite this article

Early, Emily  (2025, Oct. 24). RJI Innovation in Focus students begin nationwide media experiments. Reynolds Journalism Institute. Retrieved from: https://rjionline.org/news/rji-innovation-in-focus-students-begin-nationwide-media-experiments/