Missouri School of Journalism - The First. The Best. Since 1908.

THE FIRST. THE BEST. SINCE 1908.

FFrom the moment Walter Williams founded the School of Journalism at the University of Missouri, we’ve been building a legacy of excellence. Many of the world’s best journalists and strategic communicators learned their profession through the Missouri Method, which provides practical hands-on training in real-world news media and strategic communication agencies.

Top editors, reporters and other executives say Missouri graduates are among the best prepared to work and contribute to the organization from their first day on the job.

Simply put – nobody did it before us, and nobody’s done it better since.

We believe the best way to learn about journalism and strategic communications is to practice them. This is the ethos our entire school is built on, and the Missouri Method has permeated campus, building an incredible legacy of learning by doing.

Today, the Missouri Method allows students to gain hands-on, career-ready experience in five professional newsrooms that include an NBC affiliate, an NPRmember station and a digital-first community newspaper, as well as two strategic communication agencies that serve paying clients. We are proud of our centers and institutes. The Reynolds Journalism Institute, Jonathan B. Murray Center for Documentary Journalism, and Novak Leadership Institute are all housed within the J-School, and are all working for the benefit of our students and the field of journalism. All were created with the help of our generous alumni.

To be the best means to not only educate future generations of world-class reporters, communicators and advertising professionals, but to provide resources that benefit local journalism for all communities. Quality, well-sourced and factual reporting is as important now as it has ever been, and to keep chasing the truth, we need you. Your support will give us the tools we need to usher in a new era of trusted journalism — the future of the industry demands nothing less.

As the future of journalism and strategic communication is ever-evolving, we continue to seek support that allows the J-School to be both proactive and reactive, planning for the changes our industries require and responding when unexpected circumstances reveal themselves. Unrestricted funds such as our 1908 Fund for Journalism Excellence allow us to nimbly invest where it is needed the most. By contributing to unrestricted funds like this, you provide the flexibility needed to strategically seize opportunities and tackle challenges head on, ensuring our continued growth and impact.

REINVIGORATING LOCAL JOURNALISM

Local journalism was the beginning of the free press in our country, and it must also be its future. All citizens deserve access to high-quality information about, for and by their communities. Our democracy depends on it. The Missouri School of Journalism is the epicenter of journalism education, fulfilling a dual mission of training students and serving local communities. While all communities have unique needs, the creation of a new environment for local media innovation and experimentation will be a catalyst for meaningful and longlasting change that will extend beyond the markets covered by our professional newsrooms.

The Missouri School of Journalism is working to improve lives, communities, economies and our professions through the discovery and translation of research into technologies, information, programs and services that contribute to the public good. We will continue to translate our research and teaching activities into ideas that benefit communities, positioning ourselves as a go-to resource for media organizations seeking expertise.

Investments in this effort will support three primary areas of success: a strong journalistic practice, innovative systems and infrastructure, and new business strategies. Your support will allow us to build upon our work and provide data and assistance to newsrooms around the country while continuing to research the future of the industry and how best to inform citizens for generations to come. Your generosity will have a real-world impact on the lives of not just our faculty, students and staff, but people in communities from coast to coast.

BECOMING A ROBUST HUB FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM

The Missouri School of Journalism is working to become a supportive hub for accountability, data and investigative journalism for media outlets in the Midwest region. To serve our local communities and become a model for other organizations, the Missouri School of Journalism will provide accountability journalism research and resources to newsrooms with limited financial resources. This will help change the media landscape – to help it recover, evolve and ensure robust accountability journalism for a part of the country where this has been disappearing for years.

We work diligently to equip students and industry professionals with the investigative tools they need through courses, workshops, guest lectures and programs in the J-School. We have a wealth of knowledge on best practices for investigative reporting to share with the industry, too, supporting the vital watchdog function of journalism throughout our region.

Your support will help us hire the key faculty we need to keep our investigative reporting tools strong and build upon them for the benefit of our students and our communities. Incredible in-depth reporting is often the impetus for social change, and you can ensure Mizzou continues that tradition.

SPEAKING THE LANGUAGE OF SCIENCE

Researchers in all manner of disciplines create new and exciting breakthroughs every day. The implications of these breakthroughs on our lives can be difficult to parse and are often discussed in dense lingo that’s hard for non-scientists to grasp. Because these topics require complex and comprehensive coverage, they are often neglected or skimmed-over, and all too often, misinformation runs rampant as a result.

Training reporters and communicators to break down these concepts and explain them in a way fit for mass consumption is paramount. New advances in AI, pharmaceuticals, data security, public safety, climate and more make the ability to translate science as important now as ever.

Mizzou is home to world-class faculty who know how to bring scientific concepts from the benchtop to the masses in a clear and concise way. Our students receive hands-on experience working with projects like our Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk – a collaborative reporting network providing in-depth journalism and communication about water, agriculture and environmental issues across the Mississippi River Basin. Working within the School’s professional news outlets also offers students the opportunity to cover a variety of scientifically focused stories.

Your support will help us build a Center for Science Communication and Journalism that will allow us to grow our curricular offerings in this area, hire top Science Communication faculty and researchers, and open the door for more collaborative, science-focused reporting efforts such as the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk.

STRENGTHEN FACULTY WITH A FELLOWSHIP MATCH

The University of Missouri is in a new era of reinvesting in faculty through the MizzouForward program. Competitive faculty salaries are a key to enhancing the Missouri School of Journalism’s ability to lead journalism education and strengthen the industry. Your commitment of $200,000 will be matched by a gift provided by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation. This will fund a named endowed faculty fellowship, totaling $400,000 in support for the school. This fellowship fund supports increased faculty salaries, as well as research, collaboration and travel for the selected faculty member.

A named faculty fellowship would allow us to reward and retain a top faculty member in the J-School. The proliferation of journalism and communication schools across the country requires us to be competitive to recruit and retain. Our faculty are often targeted by other institutions because we’re Missouri, and we’re known for being the best.

SUPPORT OUR STUDENTS

The Missouri Method has been central to everything we do for more than a century. Our students learn by doing in our newsrooms and agencies, as well as through experiential learning opportunities outside their formal curriculum.

The Missouri School of Journalism has a long history of study away, internships and fellowships, and professional development experiences that are important in shaping well-rounded journalists and communicators. These experiences help them to make connections that will carry them long into their career. Your support can help us create a transformational educational experience for our students by funding a student experience fund. Nearly half of our students study away, and many others have internships or on-the-ground experiences outside the classroom that require additional financial commitments. Our student experience funds help provide our students with the financial support required to be a part of these essential experiential opportunities.

Those experiences help set us apart from our peers to remain the go-to destination for a journalism education. Scholarships are also crucial to recruiting and retaining the best and brightest students. Support of our Journalism Scholarship Fund will open doors to students with financial need and encourage the most outstanding students to choose the Missouri School of Journalism despite increasing pressure from other journalism programs across the country. More students with these meaningful experiences translates to a multitude of well-trained journalists informing our citizenry.

BUILD A HEALTHY FUTURE – TOGETHER

The Missouri School of Journalism is dedicated to our mission: to elevate and strengthen our students, communities, democracy and the world. Through the Missouri Method, world-class research, scholarship and innovation, we aim to shape future leaders across our industries who are committed to public service. Your investment powers this transformative journey and will help us build a solid foundation for a healthy, informed and empowered world.

The first. The best. Forever.