2026 Student Innovation Competition open for entries

Applications are open for the Reynolds Journalism Institute’s (RJI) 2026 Student Innovation Competition, in which teams of college students all over the country will compete for a grand prize of $10,000 with projects harnessing the growing importance of non-journalist influencers in news consumption.

Vote: 2025 RJI Student Innovation Competition

This year’s challenge was for student teams to create something to help journalists and newsrooms tackle the increasing rates of news avoidance to get vital information to the communities they serve. Is it changing the way we present, produce or create news?