Infographics: Tips and Tools

Infographic building is a skill that some of us just don’t have. If you have the time, you could learn to use Adobe After Effects or if you have the budget, hire someone who is a pro. But if you’re like us and had to dive in with no experience, here are a few tools that can … Continued

Don’t be afraid to tell your readers your journalism is valuable

The Trusting News project, staffed by Joy Mayer and Lynn Walsh, is designed to demystify the issue of trust in journalism. They research how people decide what news is credible, then turn that knowledge into actionable strategies for journalists. The project is funded by the Reynolds Journalism Institute, the Knight Foundation and Democracy Fund.

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

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

Three social media takeaways for the (very) small newsroom

Anna Kohls, Courtney Manning, Collin Krabbe and Marlee Baldridge An instruction manual prepared by Missouri School of Journalism students Anna Kohls, Courtney Manning, Collin Krabbe and Marlee Baldridge for the staff of the Berkshire Edge as part of the students’ capstone project. A style guide for the Berkshire Edge’s social media efforts created by Missouri … Continued

When crafting your social media strategy, watch out for the curveball

Hannah Sandfield, Taylor Banks and Drew Matheiu Everything seemed to be going along quite nicely with our project to create a social media strategy for the monthly Cincinnati magazine, until it wasn’t. We then compiled research on Cincinnati Magazine’s competition and best-in-breed other city magazines, and on the social media platforms themselves and how to … Continued

Fact-checking: What’s true and false? Columbia weighs in

We interviewed residents in Columbia, Missouri, to see which claims they felt were true or false before we showed them the results of our fact-checking. Does the public feel that fact-checking websites are useful? Watch and see. And explore our fact-checker files in GitHub.  In our expert segment, we speak with Angie Holan, editor of PolitiFact, about her work and advice … Continued