Sriya Reddy joins the Reynolds Journalism Institute (RJI) this week as the project manager for RJI’s Innovation Team, which administers a series of programs, fellowships and workshops centered around experimentation and the practical development of resources for news organizations.

Coming to RJI after a stint at Dallas Morning News as part of the Report for America Corps, Reddy will work to leverage RJI’s collaborative relationships with newsrooms all over the country for projects that tackle industry issues in creative ways.

“Sriya has a firm understanding of the industry, both academically and from on-the-job experience,” said Randy Picht, executive director of RJI. “She is well-positioned to help news organizations connect with RJI and develop solutions that can serve as models for community news nationwide.”

For Sriya, RJI’s emphasis on creative and experimental approaches to problem-solving was a strong draw.

“I wanted to be in a space where a lot of innovation was happening, and RJI is one of the few spaces where I felt like I could really be in the know about the newest things occurring in journalism right now,” Reddy said.

I wanted to be in a space where a lot of innovation was happening, and RJI is one of the few spaces where I felt like I could really be in the know about the newest things occurring in journalism right now.

Sriya Reddy

Reddy’s firsthand experience at the Dallas Morning News will feed directly into her role, which will see her working to partner with journalists and news organizations throughout the country to create practical solutions for the industry’s challenges. Her stories at the Dallas outlet often put local faces on the impacts of issues like affordable housing and gun violence.

“That experience really opened my eyes to how important local news is,” Reddy said. “Not only its value to the communities themselves, but the fact that there are so many problems to solve. I’m really looking forward to working with a bunch of different types of newsrooms and helping them build tools and strategies.”

Reddy earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism at Southern Methodist University before earning her master’s degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University earlier this year.

As an avid consumer of audio journalism — “Today, Explained,” the news podcast from Vox, is her current favorite — she said she looks forward to tuning into KBIA-FM, the NPR-member station that is part of the Missouri School of Journalism’s Missouri News Network of professional media outlets.

“Sriya has a lot of excitement about the potential for innovation and strategy to make a difference in local news,” said Kat Duncan, director of innovation at RJI. “Her enthusiasm is infectious, and I know the news organizations we work with will enjoy partnering with such an earnest advocate for community journalism.”