Missouri School of Journalism launches search for transformational Reynolds Chair in Journalism Strategy and Business Operations
COLUMBIA, Mo. (June 3, 2025) – The Missouri School of Journalism has launched a national search for the Reynolds Chair in Journalism Strategy and Business Operations. The focus of this endowed chair — unparalleled in higher education — will be to take a lead role in producing collaborative, sustainable business innovation and strategy in the five professional newsrooms comprising the School of Journalism’s community-focused learning lab: the Missouri News Network.
The position will also collaborate with the Reynolds Journalism Institute (RJI) to test news products and business models for the benefit of the broader industry while providing students with real-world learning opportunities. Those interested can view the complete job description and apply here: bit.ly/ReynoldsMizzou.
“This endowed chair will further position students and faculty to thrive at the intersection of journalism, business and technology,” said David Kurpius, dean of the School. “In building new business models and experimenting with ways to foster efficient collaboration in multiplatform newsrooms, the Reynolds Chair will help the School continue to build a proving ground for the people, tools and strategies that will be vital for lighting the path forward.”
“In building new business models and experimenting with ways to foster efficient collaboration in multiplatform newsrooms, the Reynolds Chair will help the School continue to build a proving ground for the people, tools and strategies that will be vital for lighting the path forward.”
David Kurpius, dean, Missouri School of Journalism
The Reynolds Chair will serve as chief digital officer of the Missouri News Network newsrooms, with the aim of making journalism sustainable for communities in an era of expanding news deserts while helping students build the skills to support that mission in the professional world. In this way, the chair will expand the network’s status as a practical, future-minded learning lab to encompass both the business and practice of journalism.
“This shift in how we teach and practice the business of news in our own newsrooms reflects the evolution of journalism’s adaptation to the digital economy,” said Professor Damon Kiesow, the Knight Chair in Journalism Innovation at the School of Journalism. “It further develops a path many of our students are already following — like the ones who have gone on to the Star Tribune and are coming through innovation programs, as well as those learning about audience engagement and news product strategy.”
That approach keeps the School on the leading edge of an industry that increasingly values convergence between business acumen and journalistic training, spheres that have not traditionally overlapped. For Randy Picht, executive director of RJI, a key trait of the successful candidate will be the ability to build bridges between those worlds to create new opportunities for experimentation.
“We’re looking for someone who can connect us with good ideas, good projects and thoughtful people, and then be an advocate to make it happen.”
Randy Picht, executive director, Reynolds Journalism Institute
“We’re looking for someone who can connect us with good ideas, good projects and thoughtful people, and then be an advocate to make it happen,” Picht said. “The Missouri News Network is a fantastic potential site for research and collaboration — it’s a great opportunity.”
Professor Mark Horvit, chair of the journalism professions faculty at the School, said that collaborative process will be mutually beneficial for the network and the broader industry, from enhancing impactful community reporting for mid-Missouri audiences to developing the students and strategic solutions of the industry’s future.
“With the help of this chair, our outlets can experiment with more ways to reach audiences, monetize audiences and create products,” Horvit said. “That also meets our other goals of better reaching and serving our community and training our students to lead professional newsrooms.”
About the Reynolds Chair in Journalism Strategy and Business Operations
The Reynolds Chair was initially funded in 2008 with a $2 million grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation. Randy Smith, an award-winning journalist, news strategist and professor, held a previous incarnation of the chair for 15 years.
Updated: June 4, 2025