‘Do people even read captions?’

Why it’s important to test what we THINK we know about mediaYes, people read captions. They’re some of the most scannable, well-read elements in news media. So how can we make them truly worthwhile? It’s time to test. Why is it important to test what we think we already know about how people read the … Continued

Launching a newsletter and thinking about analytics

It’s not just about clicks When we launched our obits newsletter, How They Lived, on December 8, I had one big concern: Would anyone read it? Honestly, I worry about that with everything I publish, but launching a new product so close to the holidays only amped up that worry. The beauty of making journalism … Continued

How an idea about local obits became a newsletter

Take that thing you’ve been thinking about doing for awhile now and make it real. A few years ago, I had this idea. I wondered if local, reported obituaries could help local newsrooms build subscribers, and therefore help support the business itself while connecting them with their communities. I talked it out in hallways and … Continued

Newsroom Notes: Covering pandemic, protests provides three valuable reminders

KOMU News is the nation’s only teaching laboratory inside a commercial, network-affiliated TV station. The challenges are no different from other newsrooms—just layered on top of the challenges facing the next generation of journalists. We’re providing a first-hand view (and maybe a little advice) from an industry veteran who agreed to lead the KOMU Newsroom during a faculty search process—just as the COVID-19 crisis began unfolding.

Short Takes: A complex answer to a complex question

Grace Lett, Samantha Bowers and Chris Olszewski Short Takes is an occasional series that captures interesting work by Missouri School of Journalism students. Local newspapers want the answer to one question: What’s the best way for content to increase digital subscribers? We spent the semester working with the McClatchy publishing company and two of its … Continued