Innovation
Building a culture of great visuals
Boyzell Hosey, Deputy Editor of Photography, faces new challenges at the Tampa Bay Times in planning the daily visual report. He directs a significantly smaller photo staff than a decade ago in addition to the added burden of social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. But the plan boils down to the same principle as always, … Continued
‘Unpublishing’ may be a catchy term, but does it accurately encompass the issue?
Most journalists would agree that the words we use to identify important issues are intrinsic to understanding them. New phenomena get labeled through the process of discovery by individuals who, naturally, do not yet fully understand them. I propose we may need a better term for what we currently refer to as unpublishing. The Unpublishing … Continued
Why local journalism needs a funding pipeline
Tech and philanthropic institutions are giving thousands of $5,000 to $250,000 grants to individual newsrooms, but… then what?
Tips for using research to make behavioral analytics useful
“What we really want is to be the light that illuminates the newsroom as we move forward on our journalistic and business goals,” James Robinson, director of analytics for The New York Times said on the power of analytics. “If people can’t use that light to see where they’re going, they’re going to get stuck … Continued
RJI, Missouri School of Journalism support launch of News Product Alliance
Seeing news product strategy as a need in newsrooms, but witnessing slower adoption has prompted RJI and the Missouri School of Journalism to get involved in supporting the launch of the News Product Alliance. NPA, which just launched in September, is a global community of news product professionals founded by more than 30 journalists and … Continued
Newly launched app empowers journalists to fight against harassment and assault
A new app, JSafe, built to help female journalists fight against harassment, bullying and assault, launched today in the Apple Store and Google Play Store. The Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute launched the app to help journalists fight against threats against them and find the resources they need when they find themselves in threatening situations. … Continued
Your first web-scraping project will be easier than you think
Last week, a colleague emailed me with a data request. She was working on a story about the shifting sands of Republican congressional rhetoric on climate change and was wondering if GOP voting records had seen any corresponding shifts in recent years. She pointed out that one good measure of environmental voting comes from the … Continued
What’s Working: Newsletters may be reaching their limits, but there’s hope beyond the inbox
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Reynolds Journalism Institute or the University of Missouri. Email newsletters are thriving, but their ascendancy in today’s media brings with it a certain foreboding: Given how successful the format has been the past few years … Continued
Discovering how readers perceive photos and video
The main questions bouncing around my educator’s noggin for the last couple of decades have been about how visuals resonate with audiences — what draws a person’s attention, helps them to parse information, to understand and remember? My goal with this RJI project is to create practical materials to help small newsrooms and non-profit organizations … Continued
Make your reporting more diverse: Try a different network, redefine experts
In the survey of 750 journalists, editors and producers conducted by ExpertFile in conjunction with The Associated Press, journalists acknowledged that there remains a significant gap in representing a more diverse set of experts in their coverage. Despite a recognition of the need for more diverse voices in their coverage, the national survey also found … Continued