How to train the next generation of news product thinkers
In order to build strong product thinking into news organizations, journalism needs to nurture the talent of young product thinkers.
My Portfolio
This is a collection of my work across many platforms and organizations. Sort by project, organization or type using the dropdown menus below. Click on each item to learn more.
Students should lead innovation in the journalism industry
Student journalists are the future of journalism. We’re also the present.
Instead of following the trends of journalism, student newsrooms should be setting them. We have more creative freedom, are less risk averse, and have a lower barrier to entry than professional newsrooms. These are the perfect characteristics to be incubators for innovation.
Instead of following the trends of journalism, student newsrooms should be setting them. We have more creative freedom, are less risk averse, and have a lower barrier to entry than professional newsrooms. These are the perfect characteristics to be incubators for innovation.
Craft a utility content strategy to better serve your community during natural disasters
When Hurricane Ida hit in August 2021, there were only two days between when it was categorized as a hurricane and when it made landfall in southern Louisiana. With this little time to plan coverage for hurricanes that devastate Louisiana communities, NOLA.com needed to find a solution for getting utility content to readers quickly. To do this, we maximized our use of evergreen content, prepared templates and planned a strategy to make sure our audience has the vital information they need to prepare for the next incoming storm.
We built a system that tracks and manages all of NOLA.com’s evergreen content. It categorizes content by market, topic, type, readiness, and past and future promotion. With more than 400 stories in there, we have many opportunities to reuse past content when it’s needed.
We built a system that tracks and manages all of NOLA.com’s evergreen content. It categorizes content by market, topic, type, readiness, and past and future promotion. With more than 400 stories in there, we have many opportunities to reuse past content when it’s needed.
Six tactics we used to build a newsletter list from scratch
On June 7, we launched NOLA Business Insider, a daily email newsletter highlighting the opportunities and challenges of the New Orleans business community. Prior to launch, we set three goals:
-1,000 sign ups in one week
-10,000 sign ups in three months
-30% open rate
We reached our 1,000-subscriber goal the day we launched.
Here’s how we did it:
-1,000 sign ups in one week
-10,000 sign ups in three months
-30% open rate
We reached our 1,000-subscriber goal the day we launched.
Here’s how we did it:
How to create and launch an evergreen pop-up newsletter
NOLA.com | The Times Picayune decided to create an evergreen pop-up newsletter. It was my job to research, brainstorm, build, curate, write, promote, and launch the newsletter (with some help, of course).
These newsletters work as an asynchronous experience. The reader signs up, starts getting the newsletter once a week, and stops once they’ve gotten them all. The content in these newsletters must be evergreen because any reader can subscribe to the newsletter any time.
Our process from idea to completion took about three weeks:
These newsletters work as an asynchronous experience. The reader signs up, starts getting the newsletter once a week, and stops once they’ve gotten them all. The content in these newsletters must be evergreen because any reader can subscribe to the newsletter any time.
Our process from idea to completion took about three weeks:
Build a push notification strategy that aligns with your subscriber retention goals
How the Star Tribune reimagined its push notification strategy from scratch
The Star Tribune asked its interns to envision the future of the company
The 2023 Star Tribune Intern Cohort presented to company senior leadership and board of directors on ways it can better reach emerging news consumers.
College Media Playbook
This 22-page guide address three key challenges college media organizations are facing: lack of sustainable revenue structures, continuing progress with frequent staff turnover and transitioning to digital.
Three college media challenges and how we plan to solve them
Student newsrooms must collaborate and innovate to improve their journalism
I launched the College Media Innovation Coalition with the goal of building a community of college newsrooms in Fall 2022. Today, we have 41 newsrooms from 25 states, and CMIC is continuously growing.
I’ve heard from many student newsrooms about the challenges they’re facing. While the list could go on for a while, these are the three topics that repeatedly came up:
I launched the College Media Innovation Coalition with the goal of building a community of college newsrooms in Fall 2022. Today, we have 41 newsrooms from 25 states, and CMIC is continuously growing.
I’ve heard from many student newsrooms about the challenges they’re facing. While the list could go on for a while, these are the three topics that repeatedly came up:
Mardi Gras Photos
As part of my freelance project for NOLA.com, I created some interactive photos using Knight Lab's Juxtapose tool. Play the videos below to see them in action.
Mardi Gras SEO Project
Optimized over 70 evergreen Mardi Gras articles for search.
Louisiana Coastal Watch Onboarding Newsletters
See the emails I created for the Louisiana Coastal Watch Newsletter onboarding journey.
Hurricane Center Newsletters
See the emails from the pop-up hurricane newsletter I created for NOLA.com.
Evergreen Content Strategy
Accumulated and categorized 400 pieces of evergreen content.
Promotional Newsletters
When NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune launched a daily business newsletter, I built these emails to send to our existing newsletter lists.
About my work
Missouri School of Journalism students and alums leading new generation of news product thinkers
Missouri School of Journalism graduates have long been coveted in the industry for the cross-training and on-the-job-experience they accumulate before entering the job market. Now, an emerging pipeline of graduates to the Minnesota Star Tribune, the state’s largest newspaper, is demonstrating yet another selling point of the School: students’ cutting-edge training in news product management.
Mizzou student’s coalition brings student media leaders across nation together
Sydney Lewis, a junior in the Missouri School of Journalism and general manager of Mizzou Student Media, noticed a problem after years working in student media: student publications seemed to all face the same problems, and yet there was no way for their leaders to seek help or advice from peers at other papers when they needed it.
The problems stem largely from student publications’ status as local businesses, which generate advertising revenue and must concern themselves with budgets
The problems stem largely from student publications’ status as local businesses, which generate advertising revenue and must concern themselves with budgets
Coalition tactician
Sydney Lewis never doubted her determination. An academically accomplished daughter of parents who made careers at universities, Lewis entered the University of Missouri with an extraordinary understanding of communication in and around higher education.
But when the Missouri School of Journalism student landed a coveted gig as managing editor of The Maneater — in May 2021 as students returned to in-person activities during the CO
But when the Missouri School of Journalism student landed a coveted gig as managing editor of The Maneater — in May 2021 as students returned to in-person activities during the CO
Building a pop-up evergreen newsletter
This past summer, RJI Student Innovation Fellow and Missouri School of Journalism junior Sydney Lewis worked with The Times-Picayune (NOLA.com) in New Orleans to explore a new product idea: an evergreen pop-up newsletter.
Focused on hurricane preparation, the newsletter ran for six weeks and made use of content from 10 years' worth of relevant stories from the paper's digital archives, in addition to some new content that filled in the gaps.
Focused on hurricane preparation, the newsletter ran for six weeks and made use of content from 10 years' worth of relevant stories from the paper's digital archives, in addition to some new content that filled in the gaps.
NPA trains Product Thinkers in partnership with Mizzou — News Product Alliance
As part of this partnership, the NPA also provided an orientation for the host newsrooms in April. The training provided the fundamentals of news product content and news product thinking in the newsroom. The NPA team created this training exclusively for the mentors from the host newsrooms.
The Mizzou students recently wrapped up their newsroom internships, and the NPA has continued to provide support in our exclusive Slack channel, including a cohort-wide coaching session with the NPA team.
The Mizzou students recently wrapped up their newsroom internships, and the NPA has continued to provide support in our exclusive Slack channel, including a cohort-wide coaching session with the NPA team.