RJI news
A more nuanced understanding of ‘journalism’ is needed — and we need our communities’ help
Originally published on Medium Trusting News works to empower journalists to demonstrate credibility by helping people understand journalism. Never has that been more important than today. Journalists are heading to work — the day after a mass shooting in a community newsroom — to keep telling stories that improve public life. In fact, the surviving members of the Capital … Continued
Five lessons learned about the drone part of drone journalism
The Missouri Drone Journalism Program has flown more than 450 sorties since December. Our drones have spent more than 38 hours in the air. We’ve had 32 different student pilots fly our drones, and they’ve flown our drones for more than 38 miles. In that time, we’ve had no serious incidents. In fact, our most … Continued
Millennials: What does ‘news’ mean to this generation?
Diversity means so much more than just race, color, ethnicity, religion, political segmentation, income and education opportunity. It includes generational differences, among others. When thinking about age, we tend to focus on ageism discrimination. Yet, for the news industry, we have the boomers in our wheelhouse. It’s the millennials and younger that are cause for … Continued
Data-driven storytelling: An essential part of telling stories
Allison McCann, data reporter with Vice News Tonight on HBO, speaks about the power of data-driven storytelling to provide important context and depth to journalism.
Augmented reality: How to make it easy, affordable and fun
For newsroom leaders already struggling to produce and monetize daily content, I understand how augmented reality tools might seem out of their reach. Though tools from Google, Amazon and Apple can be daunting with their requirement of coding knowledge, there are tools that make it easy for those of us with small budgets, little to … Continued
Making it easier for small publishers to bolster their subscriber base
As an RJI institutional fellowship managed by Rebekah Monson, WhereBy.Us is partnering with the Institute for Non-Profit News and the Information Experience Lab at the University of Missouri to build-out an open source app that helps small publishers grow our subscriber lists. Our new UX developer lead, Michael Schofield, is overseeing the design and development phases of the project, and has written the following update to share what we’re learning from user testing prototypes and how that’s affecting what we’re making now.
Humera Lodhi: Creating a tool to uncover stories that aren’t being discussed or reported
When I first decided I wanted to be a journalist, my friends were a little shocked. I heard phrases like “journalism’s dead,” or “you’re never going to find a job,” or “what would you even do,” over, and over, and over again. To them, journalism was limited to newspapers — something that didn’t play a … Continued
The four P’s of sponsorship sales: price, promotion, package and placement
Are you a small, independent news site or a news entrepreneur seeking to connect with your local bank or hospital for sponsorship? If so, keep the four P’s in mind when developing relationships with sponsors. The goal of a sponsorship is to build financial support for your organization. And sponsors may be seeking a marketing or … Continued
Data-driven storytelling: Bridges of Missouri
According to the Federal Highway Administration, Missouri has the fourth-highest number of structurally deficient bridges in the United States. This week for Innovation in Focus, Megan Smith investigates this number to learn why. Watch our second segment next week to hear from an expert on data-driven storytelling and why it’s vital to utilize at your news … Continued
Students create guide to teach journalists how to teach ‘the robots’
Artificial intelligence. Machine-learning. Natural-language processing. These terms have become buzzwords flying around the internet, boardrooms and everywhere in between. And journalists are not just writing about the emerging topics, they are also stepping up efforts to harness the enthusiasm.