Reynolds Journalism Institute

09/21/2025

RJI Fellow Rebecca Ritzel was the guest speaker in the Missouri School of Journalism's Principles of Journalism in Democracy class Thursday afternoon in Columbia.

Associate Professor Joy Jenkins conducted a Q&A with Ritzel, exploring the RJI Fellow’s career as an arts journalist and her residential fellowship at RJI. For the next year, Ritzel will create an online repository of resources for journalists and newsrooms that want to pursue nontraditional lines of funding for arts coverage. She’ll also launch a nonprofit that will award grant funding to subsidize arts journalism projects.

Students stayed after class to speak with Ritzel about the future of arts journalism.

To learn more about Ritzel and follow her progress, visit https://rjionline.org/person/rebecca-ritzel/.

09/18/2025

Radio Rivals: Two public radio stations — KBIA 91.3 FM in Missouri and Kansas Public Radio in Kansas — embraced their schools' longtime collegiate rivalry and created a friendly competition to engage new donors. Here's how they raised awareness and funds.

KBIA’s Rebecca Smith, Innovation in Focus Editor Emily Lytle, and Mizzou J-School students Claire Powell and Casper Dowdy at Memorial Stadium Sept. 6, 2025. They visited with tailgaters to raise funds for public radio as part of the Radio Rivals competition between KBIA and Kansas Public Radio. Ph...

09/17/2025

Small newsrooms can do big things, they just need the right tools: participatory observation, ethnographic interviews and semiotic mapping. Learn to work like an anthropologist by participating in RJI's Report Like an Anthropologist virtual workshop.

Photo: Emily Kennedy September 16, 2025 News Reporting Report like an anthropologist Emily Kennedy Adam Gamwell From ethnographic interviews to semiotic mapping: Small newsrooms can do big things, you just need the right tools Anthropology and journalism are close kin: both share methods such as int...

09/16/2025

The Reynolds Journalism Institute has launched AskRJI, an AI chatbot that allows users to instantly gather information and resources related to community journalism from all over RJI’s website. AskRJI is part of RJI’s effort to test and iterate on AI applications that can help community news organizations better engage their audiences.

“AskRJI makes it even easier to access free, user-friendly resources that can help small newsrooms overcome common challenges,” said randy picht, executive director of RJI. “It can also help contextualize information pulled from multiple stories and projects to offer a deeper, more rounded view of a topic.”

To activate the chatbot, click the blue button that appears on all pages of the website in the bottom right corner.

September 16, 2025 Engagement Research News Introducing AskRJI, an experimental chatbot Austin Fitzgerald AskRJI places a wealth of knowledge and resources about community journalism at your fingertips The Reynolds Journalism Institute (RJI) at the Missouri School of Journalism has launched AskRJI,....

09/15/2025

Nicolás Ríos: How our bridge role works: Immigrant communities to decision makers. Documented.info

September 15, 2025 News RJI Partnerships Citizen and community news The bridge role: How newsrooms can connect immigrant communities with decision-makers Nicolás Ríos Nicolás Rios columns We built an editorial product to promote change and connect communities that have unequal access to power In ...

09/12/2025

RJI is accepting entries for the 2026 RJI Student Innovation Competition until Oct. 17, 2025. First prize is $10,000. A team can be an individual or up to four students.

Questions about the process, applications or competition in general? Join the Innovation Team's monthly community conversation at 11 a.m. CT on Monday, Sept. 15.

Register for Q&A: https://umsystem.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_y01t_JfJTXOJ8GkCZgZYDg #/registration.

Learn more about the competition: https://rjionline.org/studentinnovationcompetition/.

Read about the 2024 winner: https://rjionline.org/news/sms-based-news-service-wins-10000-grand-prize-in-rji-student-innovation-competition/.

09/11/2025

RJI Fellow Claudia Amaro speaks with Roxana Bendezú, founder and executive director of Migrant Roots Media. Writes Amaro, "Bendezú has dedicated herself to uplifting voices within migrant communities by creating spaces — both virtual and in-person — dedicated to transforming migration narratives and providing practical skills training, enabling community members to become the authors of their own stories."

For her RJI fellowship, Amoro is creating a modular, customizable immigration journalism platform that provides journalists with ready-made materials for immediate use.

Participants of the Transforming Migration Narratives in North Carolina last summer. Photo: Mariana Iriarte September 11, 2025 News RJI Fellowships Citizen and community news RJI Fellows stories RJI Fellows Class of 2025–2026 Rooted in justice, Migrant Roots Media shifts migration narratives Claud...

09/10/2025

Several news organizations are eliminating culture critics and arts calendars.

RJI Fellow Rebecca Ritzel recently spoke with writer/composer Gabriel Kahane, whose "love letter to local listings" was published in July by The Atlantic.

"The lack of listings is destructive on a community level, and it’s also economically destructive," Kahane told Ritzel, whose RJI project includes launching a nonprofit that can provide project-based funding to arts journalists.

"What potential models do you see to restore them?" asks Ritzel.

Image: Ben Denzer | The Atlantic September 10, 2025 RJI Fellows stories News RJI Fellows Class of 2025–2026 Reporting RJI Fellowships Saving the symbiotic relationship between listings and local arts communities Rebecca Ritzel RJI Fellows class of 2025–2026 One musician uses his platform to call...

09/10/2025

"Audience-centered research furthers our understanding of the cultures of news consumption down to a local level," writes researcher Hannah Artman, who's studying audience perspectives of local news in Missouri. "Social indicators such as income, education, and political affiliation have long explained general attitudes towards the news, but 'communities' must be defined and informed from the bottom-up."

Photo: Sandra Gabriel on Unsplash September 9, 2025 News Research Naming a news desert or oasis doesn’t tell the whole story Hannah Artman Researchers are developing more nuanced tools to help newsrooms understand their audiences Hannah Artman is a researcher studying audience perspectives of loca...

09/09/2025

Walking tours: Is your news organization ready to take the first step in conducting one? Here are four factors to consider: geography, content, audience, staff and audience. RJI Fellow Cara Kuhlman explains.

Tours bring together geography, content, journalists and audiences. Photos: Cara Kuhlman Photos September 9, 2025 News RJI Fellowships Revenue strategies RJI Fellows stories RJI Fellows Class of 2025–2026 Taking the first step: How to explore walking tours for your newsroom Cara Kuhlman RJI Fellow...

09/08/2025

"I define nontraditional newsrooms as companies that provide journalists the ability to make critical business decisions," writes RJI Fellow Tara Francis Chan. "They are, essentially, democratic news organizations."

Here are three types of nontraditional newsrooms.

September 8, 2025 RJI Fellows Class of 2025–2026 News RJI Fellowships RJI Fellows stories What is a non-traditional newsroom? Tara Francis Chan RJI Fellows class of 2025–2026 Co-ops, staff-led nonprofits, and democratically-run newsrooms are on the rise Newsrooms come in all different shapes and...

09/05/2025

RJI Fellow Monica Williams is building a one-stop platform that helps U.S. newsrooms and journalists find money for reporting and journalism projects. She'll discuss her project during "Finding the Money" on Tuesday, Sept. 9, via Zoom. Register today. The free webinar is sponsored by the National Press Club Journalism Institute, the Pulitzer Center and the National Press Foundation.

Meet Monica Williams: https://rjionline.org/person/monica-williams/.

Program panelists: Anne Godlasky, National Press Foundation President Marina Walker Guevara, The Pulitzer Center Executive Editor Monica Williams, Independent Journalist and Reynolds Journalism Institute Fellow Moderator: Elliot C. Williams, National Press Club Journalism Institute Training Manager....