Reynolds Journalism Institute

07/19/2025

RJI Insight magazine provides highlights — just the tip of the iceberg — on programs and projects that make the Reynolds Journalism Institute the go-to place for new ideas and insights. The magazine is published twice annually. Learn more and subscribe: https://rjionline.org/rji-insight/.

07/17/2025

"[Clarissa Ward] challenged the culture of silence that persists in the newsroom, where unspoken conflicts and emotional strain can quietly erode team morale and personal resilience," writes Jacob Granger.

"Her words underscore the urgency of building not just trauma-informed reporting practices, but also emotionally intelligent newsroom cultures; spaces where honesty, vulnerability, and care are not just permitted, but expected." Via Journalism.co.uk.

A photographer's month in a Lebanese jail, a veteran reporter's refusal to cover a child killing, and CNN's chief correspondent's plea for honesty - the media industry is addressing the psychological toll of storytelling

07/15/2025

Since generated audio can make reporting accessible for those with visual impairments, RJI Student Innovation Fellow Kat Ramkumar and the Mountain State Spotlight in West Virginia are exploring a new tool for transforming news stories into audio.

West Virginia has the highest visual acuity loss prevalence in the U.S., where more than 1 in 30 residents suffer vision loss.

Here's how the Mountain State Spotlight is implementing text-to-audio tool Everlit.

July 15, 2025 News Engagement Technology Audio Using audio automation to engage with audiences Kathambari Ramkumar RJI Student Innovation Fellows Innovation in Focus Implementing the text-to-audio tool Everlit Kathambari Ramkumar is a 2025 RJI Student Innovation Fellow partnered with Mountain State....

07/15/2025

RJI Project Manager Sriya Reddy will host the next Innovation Community Convo at 11 a.m. CT tomorrow, July 16, online. She'll speak about the launch of the Science Reporting Navigator and the Sensitive Source Learning Course. Register now: https://umsystem.zoom.us/meeting/register/-7HYtTMjRd6Qt6TJGT4C1g #/registration. The Signals Network The Open Notebook

07/14/2025

See Gov combines AI and human judgment to create video highlights from city council and other public meetings. Here's how the Illinois Times uses this tool.

"Even journalists you have to edit," says Publisher Michelle Ownbey. "I don’t see it as any different: if a journalist turns in a story to me, I’m not going to publish it without reading it."

Illinois Times partners with a new civic nonprofit called SeeGov to create video highlights of city council meetings to coincide with their local government coverage. July 14, 2025 News Technology Citizen and community news New tool combines AI, human judgment to create video highlights from public....

07/10/2025

RJI Student Innovation Fellow Cristal Sanchez recently conducted a geographic audit to measure Spotlight Delaware's coverage coverage throughout the state. "We also compared alternative methods for conducting demographic audits at a low-cost scale," writes Sanchez.

"Our results showed that 300 out of 431 of Spotlight Delaware’s stories applied to a statewide audience. We also determined that most stories covered only the northernmost part of the state. ... The goal is to be transparent about Spotlight Delaware’s progress toward its mission and identify gaps in our coverage."

July 10, 2025 News Technology Analytics Solutions for auditing sources in small newsrooms Cristal Sanchez Innovation in Focus RJI Student Innovation Fellows Including tools and strategies to evaluate geographic diversity of coverage Cristal Sanchez is a 2025 RJI Student Innovation Fellow partnered w...

07/10/2025

While THE GREEN LINE has been working with Documenters — paid and trained community members who take notes in public meetings — Managing Editor Yara El Murr says they are continuing to find new ways to make that information more accessible. Part of that strategy has been experimenting with short-form videos based on the Documenters’ notes.

The Green Line uses TikTok to connect their audience with public meeting coverage from Documenters, who are paid and trained community members who record meeting notes. July 10, 2025 News Technology Citizen and community news Taking public meeting notes to TikTok — and making it actionable Emily L...

07/10/2025

Attending SRCCON 2025 today in Minneapolis? Join Aura Walmer as she co-facilitates "Rethinking How Stories Feel: ASMR, Sonification, and Sensory Techniques for Journalism" at 2:30 p.m. in Memorial Hall. Walmer developed the Data Sonification Toolkit during her recent RJI Fellowship.

Join Aura Walmer's SRCCON session: https://2025.srccon.org/schedule/ -news-but-asmr.

Learn more about the Data Sonification Toolkit: https://rjionline.org/news/introducing-the-data-sonification-toolkit/.

07/09/2025

The Reynolds Journalism Institute helps independent news publishers pursue community-focused projects. LION Publishers recently spoke with RJI Director of Innovation Kat Duncan "to hear how the work’s been going, what’s new, and what’s next."

RJI on the road: RJI is a reception sponsor of the 2025 Independent News Sustainability Summit, which will be held Sept. 3-5 in St. Louis. Learn more about this year's summit: https://lionpublishers.com/summit-2025/.

RJI’s director of innovation, Kat Duncan, shares exciting trends, examples of stellar projects, and what’s next.

07/09/2025

Epicenter NYC, which focuses on connecting New Yorkers with information and each other, has been proactive in integrating AI into its operations and fostering a community of practice. RJI Student Innovation Fellow Kalyn Laire is working with the news organization to build an AI toolkit, which could assist other newsrooms as well.

July 8, 2025 How-to Technology News How to build an AI toolkit for your newsroom Kalyn Laire Innovation in Focus Our test-and-learn approach to AI at Epicenter NYC Kalyn Laire is a 2025 RJI Student Innovation Fellow partnered with Epicenter NYC. The RJI Student Fellows will be sharing their innovati...

07/08/2025

New to climate journalism? Here are several tips and words of advice from veteran environmental journalists on how they cover the climate crisis. Example: "Avoid climate jargon — words common to scientists and climate policy experts but could be little known to the readers." Story by Nikita Ponomarenko.

Photo: Steve Harvey | Unsplash July 7, 2025 News Reporting Science Eight tips from environmental reporters in covering climate crisis Nikita Ponomarenko Understanding — and explaining — the science isn’t easy, but there are ways to become an expert Nikita Ponomarenko has been reporting on the ...

07/07/2025

The RJI Innovation in Focus team worked with the Dallas Free Press to evaluate tools and establish a workflow to transform city council meeting videos into engaging social media clips. Tools tested: Adobe Express, Descript, OpusClip and Veed. Here are the results.

Innovation in Focus tested Descript as a video editing tool for clipping long public meetings for social media. July 7, 2025 News Social media Technology How to transform public meetings into engaging social media clips Sophia Anderson Innovation in Focus Emily Lytle Testing Descript, OpusClip and V...