2012: What we know now on building public trust, raising money and a free press

Was 2012 prosperous for publishers? The four-part series continues, with this third installment offering key lessons from three well-respected practitioners known for thinking outside the box. Mike Fancher, veteran news business strategist and 2008–2009 Reynolds Fellow; Lila LaHood, director of operations and development at San Francisco Public Press; and Keith Hammonds, director of Ashoka’s Knowledge … Continued

Pivot Point: Next steps

Last month, the Reynolds Journalism Institute convened 34 engineers, publishers, editors, researchers and academics in Chicago for a gathering entitled: “Pivot Point: Reinventing Community, Reinventing News in a Connected World.” In this post, we’ll report on why we gathered, what we did, and what should happen next. We’d like your suggestions. Please email densmorew@rjionline.org, or … Continued

Value of journalism may lie in the art of listening

What value do journalists bring to the news? Boiled down, that’s the question that newspapers, independent news publishers, journalism schools and individual reporters have been contemplating for the last decade. Exactly what is it the news consumers have been paying for? And how do we keep people paying, so that reporters can keep reporting? I’ve … Continued

What do we mean by engagement? An RJI fellow ponders

In 2008-2009, Donald W. Reynolds Fellow Mike Fancher concluded that journalists needed to develop a “new ethic of public engagement” as an enhancement or amendment to The Journalist’s Creed. This year, Reynolds Fellow Joy Mayer has been following that thread. She’s been asking: “What do we mean by engagement?” The idea of sorting out the meaning … Continued

So you call yourself a journalist. What does that mean?

Reynolds Fellow Mike Fancher and students at the Missouri School of Journalism tackle the question of the century. Mike Fancher was the executive editor at the Seattle Times for 20 years. This year, he’s a fellow at the Reynolds Journalism Institute, where he’s seeking to answer to some of the most important questions facing journalists … Continued