Innovation in Focus
Innovation in Focus is a series exploring new tech, tools and methods of storytelling for newsrooms worldwide. We interview experts, test ideas and provide our findings on a different topic each month.
Sign up for the Innovation in Focus Newsletter to get a monthly delivery of each topic.
Whether you’re a one-man band or a large metro, this series will help you take the next step in innovative journalism.
Email the editor: lytle@rjionline.org
How a newly founded newsroom is building community connections
AfroLA is making data-informed decisions to meet audiences where they are.
Defined focus can help newsrooms automate
A contained core of apps and systems keeps automated tools approachable and trackable: A discussion with Joe Amditis.
Automating story follow-up tracking — for free
Airtable, Zapier and Google Drive products make remembering when to circle back to a topic a breeze. We built a simple automation system to track and share ideas for follow-up stories.
Students should lead innovation in the journalism industry
Introducing the College Media Innovation Coalition, a resource for student-led newsrooms to collaborate and communicate.
Newsrooms’ service roles need to be grounded in community relationships
Building trust in a community requires listening and unlearning: a discussion with Bevin Christie.
Creating an affordable text system for your community centered newsroom
SMS systems are often expensive, pay per a text plans can make it affordable.
Honoring the vulnerability of people’s stories when designing projects
A conversation with Ilia Blinderman, Senior Journalist-Engineer at The Pudding.
Building a visual storytelling experience in Newspack
Newspack streamlines publisher content, but creative storytelling can be a challenge.
How Trusting News organizes their large library of internal resources
Keeping information easily accessible is an essential lesson for newsrooms.
Combining historical and current day journalism in an interactive experience
South Dakota Public Broadcasting used archival maps, audio stories, photos and other content to combine reporting on survivors’ stories