Our residential fellowship is for an individual who wants to spend a year at RJI to create a resource to help with a current need, gap or challenge for journalists and/or newsrooms. The resource can be a platform, a tool, a series of workshops; it can be digital or physical. It just needs to be free, accessible and utilizable by newsrooms across the country.

The fellow will collaborate with RJI staff, students and JSchool faculty on-site at our institute in Columbia, Missouri. They will get a living stipend and have access to funding through the institute for project expenses.

The end product will be a free, accessible and equitable resource, tool or program that has been piloted across the country in community-centered newsrooms before the end of the fellowship.

Funding:

• Project expenses paid through the institute up to $100,000
• A monthly $5k living expenses stipend

Phases of the fellowship: 

July – Aug: Research & planning 

Sept – Nov: Build your resource 

Dec: Pilot in Missouri News Network Newsrooms (KBIA, KOMU, Missourian, Business Alert and Vox) to receive feedback

Jan – Feb: Implement your resource in at least 5 independent community-centered newsrooms across the country

March – May: Measure the ongoing impact of your resource in the newsrooms you implemented it in, get feedback and finalize changes to your resource before launching it to the industry 

June: Launch resource to public, teach workshop on implementation at RJI 

Deliverables & expectations: 

• One article each month published on rjionline.org that gives transparent updates on your progress, results, lessons learned, challenges, successes and failures. 

• Lead a monthly public webinar, panel or event that brings journalists, students, faculty, newsrooms and communities into the conversation around your project and/or supplies learning opportunities related to your project. Should also function as a feedback loop on your project deliverables and resource end product. 

• Weekly meetings with the RJI Director of Innovation to address progress, ask questions and engage with RJI resources.

• Guest lecture in classes, clubs or student related trainings/event relevant to your subject at Mizzou and RJI

• One presentation to Mizzou faculty & guests per a semester to talk about progress, lessons learned and opportunities for collaboration

• Implement your resource in the Missouri News Network + 3-5 community-centered newsrooms across the country

• Mentor, manage and engage with Missouri School of Journalism students hired by RJI to work with you on your project

• Launch a final free, interactive resource by June 2026 that is ready to be utilized by newsrooms & journalists + documentation on how to use it and the principles behind it

This fellowship is considered a full time 1-year contract and cannot be combined with other roles or remote jobs. There will be no possibility for extension or renewal.