RJI was launched in 2004 with a donation of US $ 31 million from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation. In conjunction with the centennial celebration of the Missouri School of Journalism, RJI's headquarters opened in September 2008. The Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute involves media professionals, academics and other citizens in programmes aimed at strengthening journalism in the service of democracy. RJI generates and tests new techniques and new thinking that promise to improve journalism.
Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute Fellowship Programme 2020
The Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute invites proposals from individuals and organisations who wish to partner with us on innovative projects that strengthen the future of journalism.
The projects chosen generally include creating new strategies or models to solve a problem, building new tools, creating a prototype or advancing a prototype so that it is ready for investment or launch. All projects will be built and implemented in a newsroom during the 8-month scholarship period.
Whatever your idea, its benefits should be able to extend to other news organisations and the people who depend on them. You will publish regular updates on rjionline.org to share what you are learning and how it can benefit news organisations. At the end of your fellowship, you will publish the results and lessons learnt from the implementation of your project once it has been tested or used in a newsroom.
Scholarships:
They have three types of RJI Scholarships:
Residential
Residential fellowships are designed for individuals who wish to collaborate with RJI staff, students and faculty on site at our institute in Columbia, Missouri. Residential fellows spend eight months on the campus of the Missouri School of Journalism to take advantage of the intellectual and technological resources of RJI and the Missouri School of Journalism. Examples of resources include access to programmers and application developers, support to conduct market research and paid students to produce multimedia content.
Who qualifies: Anyone over the age of 18
Start date: 1 September 2020
Duration: 8 months (two academic semesters)
Salary: Fellows receive a salary of US$ 10,000 per month and a one-off reimbursement for relocation costs of up to US$ 10,000
Non-residential
Non-residential fellowships can address something you are interested in pursuing on your own or something that might benefit a current employer. You don't have to live at Columbia, but you will need to make at least one visit to consult with RJI leadership and staff. Your project will be implemented and tested in the newsroom of your choice during your fellowship.
Who qualifies: Anyone over the age of 18
Start: Start date is negotiable
Duration: 8 months
Salary: Partners receive a salary of $20,000, paid quarterly at $5,000
Institutional
Institutional fellowships are designed to unlock some of the thoughtful and meaningful ideas in your newsroom or company that, for various reasons, have not yet been able to be explored. RJI will collaborate with a leader in your institution or company who can develop the idea and lead a team to make it a reality. This leader will be appointed an RJI Member, but will continue to work in their job. The grant for this scholarship will be paid to the company or institution to be used for salary relief for the scholar, or for another purpose that the company or institution determines will best ensure the success of the scholarship project. The project will be implemented and tested at the institution or in a newsroom of your choice during the fraternisation.
Who qualifies: Managers, executives or employees of institutions or companies
Start: Start date is negotiable
Duration: 8 months
Salary: $20,000 for the company or institution, paid quarterly at $5,000
Eligibility:
RJI fellowships are open to US citizens and news organisations, as well as international news agencies.
They also receive proposals from international journalists who plan to partner with US-based news, technology and civil society organisations.
Application:
The questions in the first stage of the application that you will be asked to complete are:
Name, telephone number, e-mail address and twitter handle
Location
Type of scholarship you are applying for
Please summarise your project idea in a succinct paragraph
What journalism problem or need does the project address?
Who will benefit from the creation of your project?
How and where do you plan to implement it once it is completed/built?
Is there anything else you think we should take into account?
Attach CV
Deadline: 18 December 2020
For more information, see:
