The Reynolds Journalism Institute’s (RJI) Innovation in Focus series, featuring RJI partnerships with community news organizations to experiment with new strategies and technology, will touch down later this month at the Radically Rural summit in Keene, New Hampshire (register here).

It’s the latest opportunity for small and rural news organizations to connect with Emily Lytle, RJI’s Innovation in Focus editor, and learn about RJI’s wide array of programs aimed at solving industry challenges. Through Innovation in Focus, news organizations have explored new ways to host election events, collaborated with local artists to launch merch lines and built interactive tools for community-contributed event guides.

Now, from Sept. 25-26, Radically Rural’s community journalism track — co-led by Lytle  and Jack Rooney, managing editor for audience development at the Keene Sentinel — will feature two sessions providing practical advice and solutions for small newsrooms looking to build sustainable futures while upholding their commitments to ethical, fact-based journalism.

The sessions are consistent with Lytle’s commitment to not only addressing issues in specific newsrooms but adding to an ongoing conversation with the broader industry. And with journalists from a diverse array of news organizations expected to attend, Lytle expects conversation to be a highlight of the summit.

“We have attendees and speakers coming from all over the country, and we have statewide organizations, hyperlocal news outlets, public radio — there are a lot of different people and different kinds of organizations represented,” Lytle said.

The first session, “I Can Help with That,” will connect journalists with RJI and other organizations that can assist them with technological support and innovation, funding and a wide variety of other resources. Lytle will join representatives from the Institute for Nonprofit News, Report for America, LION Publishers and the American Press Institute to build bridges with news organizations looking to better serve their communities.

“The idea is that the conversation won’t end there,” Lytle said. “This is a good starting point, but people can continue to talk to these support organizations throughout the summit and after the summit.”

In addition, a second session will feature rural newsroom leaders from Shasta Scout, Charlottesville Tomorrow and Mvskoke Media discussing how — at a time when public trust in news organizations remains low — news organizations can strengthen ties with their community and contribute to a more informed, engaged populace during an election season.

Given that Keene is a rural city of just over 20,000 people and the only city in southwest New Hampshire’s Cheshire County, the summit does not follow the format typical of industry conferences in larger cities, which generally take place in a single hotel or convention center. Radically Rural’s sessions are spread throughout Keene, an arrangement that, while borne of necessity, offers attendees something more than the average conference experience.

“We really use the entirety of downtown Keene as our conference center,” Rooney said, noting that daily keynotes will take place in the city’s century-old Colonial Theatre. “It feels right, because the challenges that we’re discussing, the solutions we’re looking for, they apply here, too.”

Rooney added that unlike some industry conferences, Radically Rural consistently attracts small news organizations, allowing sessions to tailor their content more precisely.

“We don’t often have to talk about scalability the way we would at a lot of other conferences,” Rooney said. “It’s a pretty even playing field.”

Registration will remain open until the summit begins on Sept. 25. For more information, visit Radically Rural’s website.

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Cite this article

Fitzgerald, Austin (2024, Sept. 6). Innovation in Focus at the Radically Rural summit. Reynolds Journalism Institute. Retrieved from: https://rjionline.org/news/innovation-in-focus-at-the-radically-rural-summit/