RJI Student Innovation Competition seeks-outside-the-box solutions to growing problem of news avoidance
The Reynolds Journalism Institute at the Missouri School of Journalism is seeking entrants for this year’s Student Innovation Competition. The contest challenges student teams nationwide to develop a means of helping news organizations reduce news avoidance at a time when 4 in 10 people on the planet avoid the news at least sometimes — often in response to perceptions of negativity and violence in media narratives.
Entries are welcome from student teams at any college or university in the country, and the teams must submit their ideas by Oct. 18, 2024. The winning team will receive $10,000 when the competition concludes this spring, with $2,500 and $1,000 awarded to the second and third place teams.
“Journalists can’t build trust with the public if the public is avoiding the news,” said Randy Picht, executive director of RJI. “I’m looking forward to seeing the fresh perspectives that students bring to a difficult issue that impacts the entire industry.”
The issue of news avoidance is crucial as news organizations face reckonings on several fronts, from declining public trust and financial insecurity to burnout from journalists. In a 2023 article in the Washington Post, members of the public described feeling depressed, hopeless and powerless after consuming news they characterized as persistently negative.
In tackling the challenge, teams selected as finalists will receive $500 in reimbursement toward their projects, which can be anything from an app, widget or other form of technology to a strategic plan or event. Students must then test and implement their ideas before presenting their work to an independent panel of expert judges.
Prior winners — working with different prompts — have created software to track how audiences respond to large-scale stories over time, bilingual news for Latino audiences and a news literacy toolkit, among other novel projects.
“I’m excited to see how students engage their communities in new and creative ways to not only break through the noise and get the information they need, but to build trust and relationships with news so they see value in returning,” said Kat Duncan, director of innovation at RJI.
To learn more or submit an idea, click here.
Cite this article
Fitzgerald, Austin (2024, Oct. 8). RJI Student Innovation Competition seeks-outside-the-box solutions to growing problem of news avoidance. Reynolds Journalism Institute. Retrieved from: https://rjionline.org/news/rji-student-innovation-competition-seeks-outside-the-box-solutions-to-growing-problem-of-news-avoidance/
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