As a Reynolds Fellow, Collins led a team of RJI-based researchers and producers in a collaboration with The Nine Network, its flagship station KETC-TV (PBS) and its St. Louis media partners to create a new genre of public affairs journalism. The program “Stay Tuned” was born as a result of the partnership. The project developed new community engagement and social media tools to fostering a more inclusive and more meaningful dialogue of St. Louis area issues.

Spend a year behind the scenes of a news experiment in progress, providing transparency and insight into the world of journalism start-ups.

Peter Meng created a social-media-driven ad platform called adFreeq during his 2011-2012 RJI Fellowship to provide live streaming classified ads. AdFreeq has since evolved into AdKiosks™, which allows companies to distribute and sell any type of product, service, news or learning content, inside of a dynamic, powerful and interactive ad on any website where ad space can be purchased.

Document and map emerging networks that support innovation across journalism, creating connection for the institutions that want to provide support and to connect the work of RJI into these networks.

The goal of Paul Boll’s project was to explore the brain in an effort to create psychologically powerful online news and advertising. Bolls studied, using lab equipment that measures physiological responses, how the brain processes news and advertising. He wanted to create news and advertising that users would pay more attention to, understand better, and remember longer.

Future Opportunities: Developing strategies for news organizations to use mobile technology to report deeper, faster and more accurately for and with their audiences.

Working with existing community news networks to inform the build, this project delivers an online platform for sharing, discussion and collaboration.

While an RJI Fellow, Joy Mayer interviewed dozens of journalists, along with experts in other disciplines about evolving relationships with audiences. Some highlights are an interview with The Guardian, a post about social cultures in organizations, and one about getting out from behind the curtain and taking the party to the people.

Develop a Missouri government data portal to encourage increased use of data among journalists and citizens.

Developed OpenMissouri.org, a Web community that lists databases held offline by state government agencies.

A prototype of a fully-gamified news outlet and the organization required to produce it.

noozYou is born of the belief that games can be a uniquely powerful medium of communication.