Learn a little, teach a little, everyone wins

The second year of a Reynolds Journalism Institute program that turns a journalism student into a teacher of digital and social media skills at a community newspaper was another big hit. The 2019 edition of the Potter Digital Ambassador Program sent seven digitally savvy young journalists from the Missouri School of Journalism to seven newsrooms … Continued

Building trust one idea at a time

“One of the things I appreciated most about the Trusting News project is that Joy takes this big hairy topic of “trust in the media” and breaks it down into actionable steps,” says Sarah Binder, the former community engagement manager at the Cedar Rapids Gazette. Binder led the newsroom’s partnership with Trusting News in early 2018. The … Continued

Discovering a new news ecosystem

When Michele McLellan dug deep into how local, online journalists were making a living, the result was a three-year series of annual conferences that spawned a national nonprofit organization.

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