2026 Student Innovation Competition open for entries

2026 Student Innovation Competition open for entries: Reynolds Journalism Institute (RJI) invites teams of students at U.S. colleges to apply by Oct. 17, 2025, with tools, strategies or projects pairing trusted non-journalist influencers and local newsrooms to boost engagement amid fragmented audiences and changing social-platform news and fact-checking policies. Finalists selected in October receive $500 in testing and implementation reimbursement, test projects in local newsrooms and present to independent judges; prizes are $10,000, $2,500 and $1,000, with winners announced next spring. Innovation director Kat Duncan hosts a Sept. 15 Q&A webinar; past winners developed text-messaging, long-term story-tracking and accessible Spanish-language content projects; executive director Randy Picht emphasizes practical innovation serving local news audiences, while Duncan anticipates TikTok, YouTube and in-person collaborations; listed location: Reynolds Journalism Institute; format: livestre

Hosted with: Psychedelic Writers Guild