The Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute (RJI) engages journalism professionals, organizations, scholars and communities in programs, tools, resources and workshops aimed at strengthening community-centered journalism through practical innovation.
The Reynolds Journalism Institute Innovation Team is accepting pitches for collaborators in building programs, tools and resources for journalism.
Have an idea that tackles a current need, gap or challenge in journalism? Do you believe in being completely transparent, whether you succeed or fail? Want to share, collaborate and be a part of building something together?
We want to work with you! Not sure if your idea is a good fit? Set up a meeting with Sriya.
As collaborators we share the work & the cost of the project, these are collaborations - not gifts or grants.
RJI is hosting our annual symposium for a cohort of 30 community-centered journalists who want to come together to share and create thoughtful and actionable ways to serve our communities better. This year we have an amazing co-host, Mirror Indy! We'll be having the symposium in their space in Indianapolis.
Dates: Nov 13 & 14, 2025
Location: Mirror Indy, Indianapolis
This experience is for those who want to take a couple days to thoughtfully brainstorm, build and collaborate together across newsrooms, roles, teams and organizations on ideas and solutions that can benefit us all.
This weekend will be considered off the record and conducted under Chatham House rules – you will be able to take anything away from it that will be helpful to your work and utilize it, but will be asked to not quote or reveal who it originated from unless they provide express permission.
This is an opportunity for us to take time to be critical and honest about the work we do, and how we can do it better in service to our communities.
Those accepted into this symposium will receive the following:
- A room at a local hotel for Nov 12-15 (arrival Nov 12, departure Nov 15)
- Lunch each day of the symposium
- A roundup of all the examples, resources and takeaways shared in the sessions + collaborative results of your work together
- Check-ins (with RJI & your symposium cohort) 3 and 6 months after the symposium to provide ongoing support + share results, challenges and takeaways
- A stipend to try a new idea you learned or developed at the symposium in your newsroom
We want you to attend if:
- You work in a community-centered role, org and/or newsroom
- You’re willing to be honest, open and think critically about your work and your newsroom in this space
- You want to collaborate, work together and share results transparently
- You want to try new-to-you methods of serving your community
- You want to listen to others and learn from their lived experiences
- Your newsroom/org & you are willing to commit to trying something you are exposed to at this symposium, (resources, ideas, methods) and being transparent about results in a published piece at rjionline.org
The topics of the sessions and the resources built from them will be participant-led and inspired, but everything will happen with guidance and support from RJI to ensure that actionable resources, activities and goals are incorporated into the weekend. We will be there to prompt, mediate and make sure every voice in the room is heard and included.
The Challenge
News influencers, newsfluencers or news creators - however you label them - are transforming how current events get shared and understood by the public. They build trust and reach with audiences who feel disconnected from traditional journalism and who prefer to consume information on social platforms. According to a report from the Pew Research Center, one in five Americans get their news from these news influencers, with a significantly higher percentage among adults under 30.
The Reuters 2025 Digital News Report highlighted this as one of the biggest trends this year, where “an accelerating shift towards consumption via social media and video platforms is further diminishing the influence of ‘institutional journalism’ and supercharging a fragmented alternative media environment containing an array of podcasters, YouTubers, and TikTokers.”
This year’s challenge is to work with a local to you newsroom to help them embrace these current trends to expand their reach and relationships in their communities by working in collaboration with local influencers (we use the term ‘influencer’ here to mean anyone in the community with a strong connection to the community, trust, and platform where they share information - but they aren’t a journalist.) These projects should meet an information need in the community while building a collaborative relationship between trusted ‘influencer’ individuals and the newsroom.
Read more about the challenge, rules and timeline.
Some resources to help student teams brainstorm ideas:
API’s guide to working with influencers
LMA article on need to know to collaborating with influencers
NPR how influencers are impacting journalism
Forbes how news influencers are reshaping media
Pew Research what we know about TikTok Creators