ABOUT THE RAZORBACK REPORTER

The Razorback Reporter is a digital publishing platform for work produced by student reporters at the University of Arkansas’ School of Journalism and Strategic Media. Previously a product of the Lemke Digital Media Lab, the Razorback Reporter returned in the Fall 2025 semester after a five year hiatus. The stories published here come from a news reporting cohort taking a course called Community Journalism. During their coursework, the students are expected to research and report on an issue affecting their local community. What you read on these pages over the course of the semester reflects their hard work and growth as reporters.

Many students in the cohort are simultaneously enrolled in SJSM courses titled Storytelling for Today’s Media and Photojournalism 1. Through this innovative, collaborative and holistic approach, the students work closely with a trio of instructors to learn news reporting, photography, editing, multimedia skills and data journalism, providing them with portfolio-ready work and experience that helps them stand out the field. Student reporters from the predecessor of this course have gone on to various reporting roles at places such as KUAF public radio, the Arkansas Advocate, the Baltimore Banner, the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism and more.

Each fall, the community journalism cohort kicks off another semester of topic-centric reporting. Previous groups have discussed the unhoused population in Fayetteville the impact of student loans on Arkansans. Students enrolled in Community Journalism have completed the following prerequisites:

– Media Writing
– Media & Society
– News Reporting I

Whether you are a student interested in enrolling in the next fall cohort of Community Journalism or a community member who would like to connect with the group with a reporting tip, contact instructor and cohort advisor Kevin Kinder at kkinder@uark.edu or fill out the form below: