RJI Fellowships
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
How an idea about local obits became a newsletter
Take that thing you’ve been thinking about doing for awhile now and make it real. A few years ago, I had this idea. I wondered if local, reported obituaries could help local newsrooms build subscribers, and therefore help support the business itself while connecting them with their communities. I talked it out in hallways and … Continued
Answering reader questions builds trust and becomes the foundation of our community and newsletter
In the coming year, we hope to grow our efforts in multiple ways, specifically to reach new communities and publish in more languages. Two weeks ago we published our third reader generated story. Readers of our WhatsApp group were regularly reaching out to send us photos of housing court documents that they had received, which … Continued
The passion for visual storytelling
Here’s my plan for documenting and sharing that passion Allow me to introduce you to Julia Robinson. Ask her to tell you about a story that made a difference and it’s like the clouds clear away and the sun begins to shine. Her passion for this profession becomes clear. Even when times are tough, when … Continued
The insults “stupid, fat, ugly” are just another day at work
The insults that hurt the most are those that imply that Latina journalists don’t belong in the news space “I have got accustomed that they call me ugly, fat, whore, stupid Puerto Rican, the N word. I’m used to the threats that they will rape me or beat me,”says Helen Ubiñas, a Boricua born in … Continued
When journalists should care about p-values
And when they shouldn’t There’s a saying in statistics: “All models are wrong, but some are useful.” In other words, it’s a little quixotic to imagine we can capture the nuances of reality with simple models, but some of these models can make the complex more legible. The first chunk of the saying is the … Continued
How to find diverse sources
A lot of the work has already been done The evidence is overwhelming that lack of diversity and inclusion in journalism not only perpetuates stereotypes and media distrust, but also limits which stories get told, how they are told, and whose voices are heard. Based on the pre-training survey responses, many reporters believe including diverse … Continued
How to write a newsletter about the dead
“For me, it’s knowing I’m going to learn something interesting (also potentially important, alarming, life-saving, funny, depending on the newsletter.)”
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