Innovation in Focus is looking for 10 newsrooms to participate in a six-month pilot of Content Credits. Content Credits is a flexible reader revenue tool for newsrooms who want to offer a pay-per-article option for readers.

Content Credits works alongside a newsroom's existing free and subscription offerings. Newsrooms maintain control over their subscription strategies, pricing, reader relationships, and editorial decisions. Each newsroom decides which articles are eligible for Content Credits, where the option appears, and how many credits readers need to unlock an article.

• The Content Credits tool will be provided to the newsrooms in this pilot for the six months for free with all revenue going to the newsrooms. After the pilot should newsrooms want to continue to use Content Credits, 20% of revenue brought in through the tool will go to Content Credits for use of the tool. 
• Content Credits integrates with most CMS systems, but not Medium or Substack. 

Learn more about Content Credits here: https://contentcredits.com/ 

This pilot will be provided by the RJI Innovation team and start in Jan 2027. Newsrooms will meet with us on zoom to share their experiences, feedback, challenges and needs throughout the pilot. We will publish at the end of the pilot to share lessons learned and each newsroom's unique experience and feedback. 

If you have questions about this pilot please contact Eden Dinneen, Innovation in Focus Editor, edinneen@rjionline.org

Students: Applications close November 8, 2026. Students will be notified by email about fellowship interviews by November 13, 2026. Interviews will be conducted before winter break.

Newsrooms/Orgs: Applications close November 8, 2026. Potential mentors will be contacted by RJI to follow up on the application and discuss project details prior to being matched with a student.

What is a 2027 RJI Student Innovation Fellowship? 

A Mizzou journalism student is placed with a news organization to work 30-40 hours per week in summer 2027. These fellowships are sponsored by RJI’s Palmer Innovation Endowment fund and the stipends are paid directly to the students.

These Fellowships are focused on projects that create, extend or build upon innovative work in each newsroom and transparently share that work with the industry by publishing articles through the Innovation in Focus series to help journalists learn from and emulate the innovative work.

Projects that are similar to past projects undertaken by Student Fellows and/or do not center innovation will be less likely to be picked for a student match. We are looking for newsrooms who want to undertake projects that will be useful to other newsrooms in the journalism industry to learn from.

What do the student fellows receive?

Each student fellow receives a minimum stipend of $8000 and will be expected to work for 30–40 hours a week for 12 weeks, starting mid-May and ending mid-August. Organizations are allowed (and encouraged!) to supplement this stipend with hourly pay.

Payments from RJI are made in three parts directly to the student. $1000 is paid prior to the Fellowship start to help with moving costs, then half the remaining stipend is paid after the beginning of the fellowship (within 30 days after the fellowship start) and the second half is paid after all the student’s RJI deliverables are met.

How are org/newsrooms chosen?

These fellowships are designed for each student to work with a newsroom or journalism organization on innovative projects of mutual interest. Partner organizations are chosen based on their application answers, proposed projects and the availability of a student fellow whose interests match the skillsets needed for those projects.

Which students are eligible to apply?

All current and soon to be recently graduated Missouri School of Journalism students are eligible and encouraged to apply. Students are chosen based on the application, interview and the newsroom applications we receive. We look to make strong matches between student interests and the innovative projects pitched by newsrooms.

Who supervises the student work?

The newsroom/org mentor will give the RJI Student Innovation Fellow regular feedback and provide guidance on projects at least 3 days a week whether in-person or remote. The mentor will also be the main point of contact with RJI on everything related to the fellowship, attend orientation/prep and all required zoom meetings.

RJI will meet with Student Fellows regularly prior to the fellowship start and then bi-weekly throughout the fellowship to make sure they are learning, supported and achieving their goals. 

What are students required to produce for RJI?

Each student’s work will be highlighted in RJI’s Innovation in Focus series and newsletter. These 2-3 articles will be produced by the student fellow over the course of their fellowship to share their innovative project work and help other newsrooms implement the same innovation. 

Read more

Newsrooms & orgs who are interested in hosting a RJI Student Innovation Fellow for summer 2027 should apply below.    

Fellowship Guidelines: 

• RJI pays the student fellows directly a stipend for their summer work but you are allowed (and encouraged!) to pay them an hourly wage in addition to their stipend if you are able to do so. 
• The student fellow must work on at least 2 innovative projects/initiatives over the course of the summer which will be transparently shared with the journalism industry through articles they write for RJI. Students will not be doing traditional journalism reporting (writing articles, copy editing, covering daily stories etc) 
• The RJI articles on their innovative projects will be published through our Innovation in Focus series on rjionline.org and in the IIF newsletter.
• This application should be filled out by the mentor who is going to work closely with the fellow by supervising their work. The mentor will be expected to take part in our fellowship program by attending the required mentor meetings, joining our shared slack space and communicating with RJI on their progress. 

 Read more details here.

In this 2-part virtual workshop for beginners, attendees will learn the ins and outs of creating engaging and informative vertical storytelling experiences! According to the 2026 Digital News Report by the Reuters Institute, 77% of people globally consume online news video each week. TikTok, Instagram and YouTube are driving this growth. So if you’re not producing storytelling for vertical spaces, you’re not meeting all your potential audiences where they are!

In this fast-paced, practical course, you’ll learn the four key ingredients behind social video that performs. You’ll learn how to structure strong vertical video, write scripts that sound human (not like a news bulletin), and use layered storytelling to pack depth into every second.  We’ll explore creative formats that go beyond presenter-led video—using props, filters, and bold ideas to make your content stand out. 

This webinar series will cover:

• The four key ingredients behind social video that grabs attention and grows audiences
• Practical apps, tools, and tricks to create standout video—no big budget needed
• Real-world examples and inspiration from media, NGOs, and digital creators

Class 1: January 22, 2027, 11am CT - 1pm CT 

Hook them in: the structure of great vertical video 

• The anatomy of social video that hooks, holds, and lands
• Four proven hooks to make people stop scrolling and start watching
• Simple, practical techniques to structure your video

 Speaking in human: getting the tone right 

• Why tone matters
• The building blocks of tone: words, body language, and delivery
• How to spot (and avoid) journalese and unnecessary jargon
• How delivery and body language bring your script to life  

Class 2: January 29, 2027, 11am CT - 1pm CT

Say more, faster: mastering content density 

• What content density means—and why it matters for social video
• Standout examples of how to pack more into less time
• Practical ways to compress time using visuals, text, and graphics
• How to plan your story in layers using simple scripting frameworks

Make it standout: creative storytelling for social 

• Simple ways to make presenter-led video more engaging and less predictable
• Creative ideas from top creators who use props and visual storytelling to stand out
• Inspiring formats across topics—from politics to sport and everything in between
• A hands-on group exercise to develop a creative treatment for a complex story

Participants in this workshop will not only leave with hands-on experience and additional resources to continue their learning at home, but will also be awarded an RJI Certificate of Completion for this training workshop.

Your instructor: Laura Garcia works for BBC’s World Service, making mid-form creative explainers for YouTube as social media specialist focused on vertical video strategy and social media innovation

Your host: Kat Duncan is the Director of Innovation at the Reynolds Journalism Institute. She leads the innovation team and their programs, workshops, partnerships and initiatives. 

When this class is full, you can ask to be added to the waitlist by emailing Kat Duncan Duncank@rjionline.org