A LION is born

Dylan Smith was skeptical when, in 2010, he received an invitation to the first Block by Block conference. Leaving his one-person newsroom for a weekend to fly across the country for a conference aimed at local, independent, online news operators seemed like a waste of time. Smith ran a nonprofit site in a major metro, … Continued

Where media meets tech

Alisa Cromer started her newspaper career, in the early 1980s, in Las Vegas, home of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the flagship paper of the Donrey Media empire, founded by Donald W. Reynolds. “I met old man Reynolds,” Cromer says, and she cut her teeth learning how to compete against him. She ran a small business publication; … Continued

Getting engaged. No diamond ring required

Some folks might think it’s a bit unusual for a print design professor to segue to a career researching and improving the relationships journalists have with their communities. Joy Mayer never gave it a second thought.

Why it works

By 2017, it was clear to Janine York that she had to act. “Our newspaper is our core product, but we knew we needed to expand,” says York, the advertising director at the Missourian, a twice-weekly newspaper in the small town of Washington, Missouri.

It’s easier than ever to create a data-driven newsletter

When Tamara Power-Drutis worked at Crosscut Public Media, a non-profit news site in Seattle, she was involved with the site’s email newsletter. She was absolutely sure they were doing it wrong. She just didn’t know in what way.

Bots: Tips and Tools

How to use the Facebook ad archive for projects and tips on what to think about before you start!

Info District dispatch: On lobbying

To pass an ordinance or petition for a referendum you need to lobby someone. The Community Information Cooperative’s 501(c)(3) incorporation means that no more than 20 percent of our budget can be spent on lobbying. At first, we saw this as a limitation.

RJI video series on innovation is a finalist for EPPY Award

Innovation in Focus, which helps newsrooms navigate the numerous new emerging technologies and storytelling techniques, is a finalist for a 2018 Editor & Publisher EPPY Award. The series, which is produced by the Innovation and Futures Lab at the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute, was selected from more than 300 entries across 30 categories, according to … Continued