RJI Fellowships
The Common Reader: A quirky corner on the internet
Dutch graduate students visited four U.S. journalism startups between December 2015 and February 2016 to observe how these entrepreneurs “make it work” and, in the process, redefine what it means to be a journalist. Their work is part of Beyond Journalism, a study of entrepreneurial journalism by 2015-2016 RJI Fellows Tamara Witschge and Mark Deuze, both journalism professors in the Netherlands.
Nonresidential fellow jumpstarts his project with a visit to RJI
My fellowship project was transformed earlier this month during a three-day visit to Columbia, Missouri. The occasion was an informal convening of several of this year’s Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute fellows to discuss the varied projects we hope to bring to fruition over the coming months. Though it was a laid-back affair, the conversations … Continued
Saving journalism—and story clips—from the trash heap of time
Altogether there are just 32 small envelopes, faded to an institutional green, with shredded corners and split seams. An unimpressive collection and, as their savior so plainly put it, not enough to fill a shoebox. Yet they hold almost three years of my life’s work. Work headed for a dumpster if not for the thoughtfulness … Continued
We asked journalists: How do you fit in time to learn about industry information?
In the midst of so much to do, how and when do journalists take the time to learn more about our industry? And what formats or platforms make learning easy? I’ve been asking those questions as I wrap up a really cool project and want to share what I’ve learned in ways that are useful … Continued
RJI Fellow developing bot-driven engagement to build community, extend news coverage
Coverage. It’s what we promise as news organizations. We cover stories, communities, events and people. Every news organization should make one promise to its community: We’ve got you covered. But we don’t, not by a stretch. Our coverage is actually becoming more gap-filled and uneven by the day. I won’t spend much time here writing … Continued
RJI Fellowship seeks to bolster independent mobile journalism in Cuba
With few Cuban residents having access to the internet on the island, independent news outlets like 14ymedio are forced to find creative ways to deliver online news to a disconnected country. The latest idea from the team at 14ymedio is to develop an app that will utilize offline sharing technology to further amplify news distribution … Continued
Breaking News 2: When good ads go bad
Breaking News is a series on the self-inflicted fractures breaking the news business. The first was on malvertising. This second report is on the “ad tech tax” everyone pays — in dollars, time and readership.
Digital services suite helps community papers become one-stop shop for merchants’ advertising needs
Missouri Press Service has launched a suite of digital services designed to help community newspaper publishers boost their relationships with ad clients while generating additional revenue. Services range from creating websites and social media pages for newspapers’ ad clients to training newspaper staffs to sell targeted YouTube and display ads. Since MPS, a Missouri … Continued
Breaking News 1: How monetizing became malvertising
Breaking News is a series on the self-inflicted fractures breaking the news business. This first report is on the malignant effects of ad tech.
Postscript: A WordPress plugin for data visualization and multimedia
The first plugin from the Storytelling Tools project is now free in the WordPress directory.