Griffiths Innovators elevate local news through digital strategy

Through the Griffiths Innovators program, University of Georgia students sharpen their digital media skills while also contributing to the growth and sustainability of local journalism across Georgia.

The unique opportunity pairs each student with a media outlet to collaborate on innovative solutions for today’s news challenges. As part of the Cox Institute for Journalism Innovation, Management & Leadership, the program is funded by media veteran Richard T. Griffiths, former CNN executive and president emeritus of the Georgia First Amendment Foundation.

Keep reading to learn more about the four Griffiths Innovators working with print-based media outlets this semester.

Maya McKenzie, The Monticello News

Maya McKenzie, a third-year journalism major, is using her passion for digital storytelling to strengthen the online presence and digital strategies for The Monticello News.

“I applied to be a Griffiths Innovator because I’ve always been interested in digital strategy and content creation,” McKenzie said. “I’ve done a lot of that with sports here at UGA, but I wanted to focus more on local news.”

At the newspaper based in Monticello, Georgia, McKenzie helps refine the publication’s digital content approach. Her work includes developing weekly content calendars, designing graphics and templates for social media and implementing systems to ensure consistency across platforms.

“They really wanted to find a consistent balance with posting,” said McKenzie. “So I’ve been creating content calendars for them and designing templates to help everything look clean and consistent on Facebook and Instagram.”

Blending creativity with strategy, her projects feature visuals and captions that elevate sports and local news coverage for the newspaper’s audience. By standardizing The Monticello News’ digital workflow, McKenzie helps engage readers more effectively by maintaining a reliable social presence.

Looking ahead, McKenzie will bring her skills to WRBL in Columbus, Georgia, next semester, where she’ll further explore the world of broadcast journalism.

“I’m really excited to get more of a broadcast feel and see the behind-the-scenes of a newsroom,” said McKenzie. “The Cox Institute’s programs give students valuable experience working in real newsroom settings, and it’s great to collaborate with other Grady students who share similar goals in content creation and media.”

Derek Oliveros, The Oconee Enterprise

Derek Oliveros, a fourth-year journalism major, is focusing on vertical video strategy and digital presence at The Oconee Enterprise in Oconee County. His goals include integrating video into their website and growing their social media presence.

“Both of these goals work hand-in-hand,” Oliveros said. “You can’t have a social media presence without video, so that made the process a little easier to hit the ground running when formulating ideas of how I could help.”

In response, he developed a comprehensive video strategy with short-form content for The Oconee Enterprise. Three video series stood out in particular — “Behind the Scenes,” “What’s Next” and “Digital Standups.” This content provides a deeper look at what goes into producing a story, while also providing viewers with news content in concise, digital-friendly clips.

“The goals for these videos were to make them simple, easy to create and easy to replicate, as well as making them a way for readers of the newspaper to get a look into the newsroom for how it works and who are the people delivering the news to them,” Oliveros said.

Oliveros found his fellow Innovators to be a valuable resource throughout the creation of his deliverables. For their video content, The Oconee Enterprise required a lower thirds, intro video and outro video. Despite not having direct experience in a graphics setting, Oliveros was able to work through a solution alongside his peers.

“Being able to talk it out with the other Griffiths Innovators and with Dr. (Amanda) Bright really helped me out and gave me the confidence that I could do something, even though I didn’t have the biggest background in it,” Oliveros said.

Katherine Davis, The Current

Katherine Davis, a fourth-year journalism major, works in digital design and vertical video creation at The Current, an investigative news outlet in Savannah, Georgia.

This semester, Davis has focused on improving the visual appeal of The Current’s Instagram and YouTube pages. She believes building a foundation in strong design now will ease the outlet’s transition into vertical video in the future. Davis will step into that role herself in the spring when she expands their vertical video content, especially on TikTok.

“As a member of the younger audience, I feel that visual appeal is the first step to getting someone’s attention, and then content is second,” Davis said. “They won’t watch a video unless they click on it first.”

As media outlets today seek to connect with younger audiences on social media, Davis finds it smart for outlets like The Current to engage in programs like the Griffiths Innovators. The program allows students to gain hands-on experience early in their careers, while the outlets benefit from a new voice and perspective.

In a group brainstorm session with her fellow Innovators earlier this semester, Davis found herself pleasantly surprised with the multitude of ideas she walked away with. She also emphasized the value of gaining hands-on experience in undergrad as an Innovator, even before entering a formal internship program.

“Being able to bounce ideas off of people who are also working in similar, but different environments got the creative juices flowing,” said Davis. “I felt like I had more ideas coming out of that than I thought that I would.”

Rachel Sandstrom, Capitol Beat

Rachel Sandstrom, a fourth-year journalism major, is working to increase engagement among member newspapers for Capitol Beat, which provides coverage on state legislature to newsrooms across Georgia through the Georgia Press Association.

So far this semester, Sandstrom has been in touch with many of Capitol Beat’s 125-plus member newspapers to collect and analyze data on engagement. Calling newsrooms, she speaks with editors and analytics managers to determine how Capitol Beat is used and what the best stories are for Capitol Beat to cover.

“They want to create this two-way communication between their member newspapers and Capitol Beat, so we can more efficiently know what their readers want and what they’re covering,” Sandstrom said.

Unlike traditional engagement and analytics, the numbers Sandstrom collects aren’t just clicks on the website or likes on a post. She emphasized how this process has encouraged her growth in conceptualization.

“We’re trying to best capture things like conversations that people are having outside of an online forum,” Sandstrom said.

Next semester, Sandstrom plans to convert this analysis into a digital product, improving communication across all Capitol Beat newsrooms.

For more about the Griffiths Innovators program and past year’s reports, visit https://grady.uga.edu/cox-institute-for-journalism-innovation-management-leadership/#journalism-innovation-lab.

Author: Alexis Derickson, alexis.derickson@uga.edu