Innovation
Launching a newsletter and thinking about analytics
It’s not just about clicks When we launched our obits newsletter, How They Lived, on December 8, I had one big concern: Would anyone read it? Honestly, I worry about that with everything I publish, but launching a new product so close to the holidays only amped up that worry. The beauty of making journalism … Continued
Pre-reporting for data journalists
A brief intro to exploratory analysis In a recent paper, a pair of statisticians took a stab at outlining “the most important statistical ideas of the past 50 years.” Among them: “counterfactual causal inference, bootstrapping and simulation-based inference, overparameterized models and regularization, multilevel models, generic computation algorithms, adaptive decision analysis, robust inference, and exploratory data … Continued
Narrated articles: Q&A with Allyson Daniels
This month for Innovation in Focus, I interviewed Allyson Daniels to learn more about how we can increase accessibility in journalism. Daniels is a quality editor for the Bleacher Report. Swanson: Could you give a brief summary of the work you do? Daniels: I’m a quality editor for digital sports media network Bleacher Report, meaning … Continued
Year in review: How RJI continues to work with, and for, journalists
Eight ways RJI helped newsrooms like yours in 2020 It doesn’t happen every year, but when the unexpected discovery becomes a bit of a trend at the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute, it’s a good year. And that it happened in 2020, which, for the most part, has been a tough year, is especially good. … Continued
Automating election results from local data sources
We teamed up with the Voice of OC, a non-profit, local news site in Orange County, California, to automate their live election results. We teamed up with the Voice of OC, a non-profit, local news site in Orange County, California, to automate their live election results. By integrating data from several authorities, we provided up-to-the-minute … Continued
Instagram Reels: Q&A with Anthony Quintano
For Innovation in Focus this month I experimented with Instagram Reels and spoke with social media manager Anthony Quintano about Instagram Reels and how it compares to TikTok so far. He is currently a manager of visual storytelling and has trained journalists on how to use social media since 2010 at NBC, Recode and Honolulu Civil Beat. … Continued
Narrative change: Designing conversations for an inclusive economy
The sustainability of local journalism is tied to the strength of local business and both have been rocked by a deadly pandemic and roused by nationwide rallies for racial equity. In developing blueprints for an equitable post-pandemic recovery, communities have a critical opportunity to address the role of local media in creating a more accurate … Continued
From the frontlines: Latino journalists describe discrimination
In our investigative project we have already mentioned salary disparities as the main factor of discrimination, and our final product will focus on a tool kit for young Latina journalists to use as they face their first employment interviews. While we are working on this, we will also bring to light several testimonies we have … Continued
Instagram Reels: Historic homes
Next week: Our tips and tricks for making your own reels! Sara Dingmann is a University of Missouri journalism student and innovation lab student staff member.
When should you think about unpublishing? Before you publish in the first place.
It may be time to revisit basic editorial practices in your newsroom.