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New Center Will Create Journalism of the Future
Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute will help professional journalists, scholars and industry leaders collaborate and connect with citizens
To explore new forms of journalism, whether digital, global or hyper-local, the world’s first school of journalism has created a solution-oriented center for ideas, experimentation and research. With fully modular high tech labs, an experienced staff of journalism professionals, technical support and testing facilities geared to new technologies, the institute will celebrate its grand opening Sept. 12.Housed in 50,000 square feet of new and remodeled space, the three-building RJI complex includes a modern four-story glass-walled structure built inside a carefully preserved 1892 Victorian gothic building on the University of Missouri campus.
“If a place could be specifically designed to allow journalists to conjure up new ideas, what would it look like? That’s the question we asked,” explains Dean Mills, dean of the Missouri School of Journalism. “At RJI, journalists will find the tools to launch controversial experiments and the research capability to test new applications. It’s a place where journalists, corporate partners and citizens will collaborate to find practical solutions to the challenges that face our industry.”
Everette E. Dennis, former executive director of the Gannett Center for Media Studies, Columbia University, consulted closely with the Missouri School of Journalism in planning the new Institute.
"This is the most exciting development for the elevation and advancement of journalism and news in decades, a truly unique enterprise that will connect serious research with practical solutions for the news media, education and the public too," says Dennis.
RJI’s goal is to partner with established media companies, industry associations and emerging new media innovators, most recently Adobe, Apple and AT&T. Building on the University’s tradition of interdisciplinary problem solving and its record of entrepreneurial leadership, RJI is helping to incubate products and applications that will take journalism into the new century.
RJI was launched in 2004 with an initial grant of $31 million from The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, a national philanthropic organization founded in 1954 by the late media entrepreneur for whom it is named. Headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., it is one of the largest private foundations in the United States. Donald W. Reynolds was a 1927 graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism.
All of this will be showcased at the Sept. 12 dedication of RJI’s new complex, which will mark the climax of the Missouri School of Journalism’s three-day Centennial celebration. During this event, journalists from around the world will convene to participate in 35 interactive journalism sessions and 27 technology discussions, among other activities.