Student-run Reese Felts Digital News project launches reesenews.org

Students at the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media launched a website  focused on pioneering innovative ways of delivering news and information.

The site, reesenews.org, is part of an initiative to bring UNC’s journalism school to the forefront of media research and digital journalism.

“We’re here to learn every day about what’s going on around us and how journalism can benefit from it,” said Monty Cook, executive producer of the project.

The project’s research initiatives will focus on two main areas: audience engagement and emerging media technologies. The site and other platforms will serve as a tool to help small- and medium-sized news organizations better understand the changing ways that audiences use media.

The site uses metrics to track how readers interact with stories, and the school will release its Omniture rankings so other organizations can see what story formats are most effective at attracting readers. The site will also feature space for news organizations to test browser plug-ins, applications or emerging social media platforms.

“We can be facilitators in a way, trying to reach out to other schools within the University and the country,” Cook said about emerging media technologies. “Everyone has to navigate technology and social media so our ability to work across disciplines is important.”

In addition to audience research initiatives, student reporters will use alternative modes of storytelling. Most stories will feature long-form investigative journalism, but multimedia and gaming will be incorporated to provide entertainment and news.

The site also emphasizes collaboration between news distributors and news consumers. These hybrid models of journalism are made possible through new forms of media including evolving mobile technology.

“Technology allows anyone to commit an act of journalism,” Cook said. “It’s important to know how to share that journalism and send it into the news ecosystem.”

Find reesenews on Facebook and learn more about the launch by visiting reesenews.org/about.