Here is the information from a Knight Press Release:

Twenty-one innovative ideas that will help residents lead informed lives have received $5 million from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

The projects are the first winners of the Knight Community Information Challenge, a five-year, $24 million initiative to help community foundations support creative ways to use new media and technology to keep communities engaged.

“At Knight Foundation, we firmly believe that you cannot effectively manage the affairs of a community in a democracy without the free flow of information. That’s why we believe that information is a core community need, as critical as any to a healthy community,” said Alberto Ibargüen, Knight Foundation’s president and CEO. “Our goal at Knight is informed and engaged communities. Community foundations were established to meet core community needs, so they are logical partners.”

“The range and variety of projects naturally reflects the differences between communities and the consequent interests of community foundations.”

The winning projects include:

* A hyperlocal news site staffed by professional journalists and citizen contributors in the five ethnically diverse towns of Connecticut’s Lower Naugatuck Valley – which have lost their newspaper and local radio station over the last decade. The site will be modeled after an online news source in nearby New Haven.
* “Story-stations” in underserved communities throughout San Diego, including the region’s 18 Indian reservations. The reports will be produced and distributed through a newly created digital news network spearheaded by the local start-up voiceofsandiego.org.
* A state-wide competition in Minnesota to come up with the best solutions to community problems. Priorities will be identified through community listening sessions in conjunction with Minnesota Public Radio. Winning ideas will become a reality, thanks to grants from the Minnesota Community Foundation and its partners.

See all the winners here.

Knight Foundation has become a leader in media innovation; meeting the information needs of communities and helping journalism evolve into its best possible future. We are also fortunate to work with many effective organizations for the benefit of Knight communities.

We plan to continue that work in 2009, obviously mindful of the recession that’s affecting all of us. The financial crisis has affected every investor in the market, and of course that includes us at Knight Foundation, since our income is derived from our investments of the funds left to us by Jack and Jim Knight.

So, we’re down, too – and, of course, the natural question from grantees is “what are your intentions?”

First, let me repeat what we’ve discussed with many of you individually: while we have taken our losses, the foundation remains quite strong.

I’m especially pleased to be able to assure you that Knight Foundation will honor all existing pledges and grants. We foresee no liquidity issues for the Foundation….

As good managers – and just as we expect of our grantees in these difficult times -we’ve taken steps to reduce our own expenses, including keeping all salaries flat, not hiring any open positions, and reducing expenses at every opportunity….

…we will also continue to seek grant-making opportunities and to support ideas that might result in positive, transformational change.

The full text of his presentation can be found here. Here is the video:

Knight Foundation President Alberto Ibargüen Addresses Economic Outlook from Knight Foundation on Vimeo.

I noticed in the first round they had about 2,300 applicants. The deadline for the Round 2 submissions is Monday, December 1, 2008 and so far the total Round 2 submission are at about 100. So am guessing about 200 final entries, but that’s just a guess.

So what the heck is the Journalism Doctor Telepresence Reporting Experiment? Well get yourself over to the Knight News Challenge site to find out. When there, please be sure to rate my idea. If you like it, send your friends. It is, I do believe a very good idea, and when I explain it to videographers and people who teach video classes they love it. Now, see what you think.

Got A Great Digital Media Idea?
Take The Knight News Challenge Plunge And See If It’s Worth $5 Million.

Register for Informational Webcast Now here.

The Digital Age has changed the media and publishing business forever. Today’s tech-savvy digital natives are dictating how, where and when they want their information. The news and information industry needs new ideas to help it evolve with its audience

If you have a great idea for innovating digital news you can take part in the $5 million annual Knight News Challenge contest for innovative ideas using digital experiments to transform community news. The Knight News Challenge is designed to help inform and inspire communities in the 21st century the way the Knight Brothers newspapers did in the 20th century. The philosophy is that digital innovation can and will come from everywhere.

But how do you get started? How do you submit well-thought out and presentations to be seriously considered? While anybody can apply, there are some simple rules that need to be followed.

Join Editor & Publisher magazine for this live, interactive Web Seminar, sponsored by the Knight Foundation, and hear how you can get started and have a chance to win money for your idea. Attend this online-only event and get tips from Knight Foundation executives and past applicants regarding how to write a strong proposal.

Register Now.

Featured Speakers:

Gary Kebbel
Journalism Program Director
Knight Foundation

Amy Gahran
Knight Foundation Winner

Nora Paul
Knight Foundation Winner

Moderated by :

Elliot Markowitz
Editorial Director, Online Events
Nielsen Business Media

Look at this interview as a benefit of reading the PJNet.org. Why? Because the odds of having a smart proposal approved are very good. Read on.

Leonard Witt: Tell me a little about the Knight Community Information Challenge, why is Knight involved and for what end?

Mike Maidenberg: Knight Foundation is deeply interested in how information flows in physical communities. We know the power of the web in specialized fields. What we are trying to understand and experiment with is how the web can be used to tie local communities together, with the newspaper a model from the past.

Witt: How did newspapers do that in the past?
Mike Maidenberg: A newspaper was generally a broad-reaching media vehicle. It touched the entire geography of a region. It was wide, but often not deep. When I was a publisher, it was accurate to say the reach of the newspaper matched the community’s boundaries economically, culturally and in many other ways. Local television broadcasts also had broad distribution. I should emphasize that we see both newspapers and television still very much in the game, but their audiences are skewing older.

Witt: Sure, but the whole idea of public journalism grew because newspapers — and other mass media — were not very well connected with their communities. There were lots of people left out of the conversation, which mostly was between reporters and experts. Who wants to go back to that?
Maidenberg: There were lots of faults with the way newspapers and other mass media operated, including as you note people being left out of the conversation. But still the news columns made it possible for everyone in a community to get a sense of what is going on, what the problems and challenges are. A newspaper could report on educational attainment gaps, job losses, use of public monies for arenas, etc. If there is no general platform on which a conversation in the community can be held, that is a matter of concern.

We don’t see an online newspaper emerging that will replicate the print product. We do see lots of interesting ideas emerging. We don’t know the answers. We do want to encourage experimentation. One way is through the community foundation initiative.

Witt: You say, “One way is through the community foundation initiative.” There are now so many Knight challenges — news and information initiatives — it is hard to keep them straight. What’s that about, why so many? Why not just seek folks out with good idea and give them the money?
Maidenberg: Yes, there are several challenges, but each has a strategic focus. A few minutes on the web site will help. We are in fact seeking folks out, but we are doing it by asking for proposals and ideas from all parts of society.

Witt: Can you give us a hint of the kind of ideas that might hit the jackpot with this initiative?
Maidenberg: Does the idea show that a community foundation is experimenting with the information needs of its community? Does the community foundation accept information as a core community need? Does the proposal by the community foundation show that the community foundation is exercising community leadership?

These are the principles we will be looking at. The specifics will certainly vary community by community. Blogging, digital connectivity, digital mapping—these ideas and more have been suggested. But it will depend on how they fit within every community and community foundation.

In the community foundation initiative, requests for grant support will come from community foundations, who in turn will deal with new ideas, organizations, individuals, coalitions, etc.

Witt: Okay, let’s try this a little differently. Is there a community foundation that you or Knight now thinks is doing an exemplary job of fostering or facilitating the exchange of information across its community? Do you have some kind of ideal in mind?/em>
Maidenberg: We see many community foundations active in the area, but none that have reached far enough to be an ideal. That’s what we are trying to bring forth. I personally don’t know that there will be a single ideal or model. More than likely it will vary by community. The important thing is that a community foundation is engaged with information, considering it as important as housing, education, jobs, etc.

Witt: I want to get back to this: You said, “In the community foundation initiative, requests for grant support will come from community foundations, who in turn will deal with new ideas, organizations, individuals, coalitions, etc. ” So how do you see this working? Do you foresee community foundations coming up with great ideas and then seeking partners, or people and local institutions with great ideas banging on community foundation doors and trying to work a deal that begins with a proposal to this Knight challenge?
Maidenberg: We held a media seminar in February this year which attracted 70+ community foundations. They got a grounding in how the media is changing, and the speed of change. We see some of these community foundations, and others, proposing ideas. It will work all the better if people and local institutions bang on community foundation doors. So both ways are possible. But the proposals need to come from community foundations.

Witt: Hmmm, 70+ community foundations. Wow, I like those odds. So do you see elaborate proposals let’s say like an online information exchange built on complicated software or more simple stuff like teaching folks in the community how to use video cameras and make their own news?
Maidenberg: As always, there will be a range. We’ve heard of some community foundations thinking about elaborate digital public squares, but others are considering how to get more coverage of education, and would like to have an education reporter stationed somewhere to talk about issues. What we are most confident of is that Knight Foundation in Miami cannot figure out what will work best in a particular community. The best ideas, big or small, will come from the community itself.

Witt: Great information, so what did I forget to ask that will help community foundations, institutions or individuals understand this better?
Maidenberg: You covered all the key questions. I would only emphasize again the importance of going to the web site, looking at the information there, especially the FAQ.

Here is today’s press release in full:

New Knight Initiative Seeks to Address Local Information Needs Engaging Community Foundations

$24 Million, Five-Year Project Spurs Innovation through Challenge Grants

MIAMI – A $24 million initiative by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation will engage community foundations in a grant-making challenge to find creative uses of media and technology to help keep communities informed and their citizens engaged.

The five-year Knight Community Information Challenge is launched as the media world undergoes rapid change and acknowledges that there is less local information readily available. The challenge is premised on two strongly held beliefs: 1) in a democracy, information is essential for a community to function properly; it is a core need, and 2) since community foundations are established to meet core community needs, they are logical partners in meeting the information needs of communities.

This initiative is also seen as an opportunity for community foundations to provide civic leadership.

The Knight initiative has three parts:

• A grant-making program will invite community foundations to propose ideas to meet information needs in their communities. Knight will make $20 million available over five years to match funding for the best of these ideas.
•  Once the winners are chosen, teams of “circuit riders” – specialists who bring access to resources and expertise – will be available to help community foundations address their information-needs opportunities. The teams will help community foundations develop the ability to plan and execute their ideas.
• The project includes a Media Learning Seminar on Feb. 16-17, 2009 to help community foundations learn about the information needs of communities in a democracy. The first such seminar of this kind was held in February 2008 when Knight and the Council on Foundations co-hosted a gathering in Miami. The 2009 seminar will offer an opportunity to exchange current knowledge, review existing information needs projects and share best practices. A companion meeting hosted by the Council on Foundations in October 2009 will reach out to more community foundations.

“Many community foundation executives and board members told us they were ready to embrace information as a core part of their mission,” said Alberto Ibargüen, Knight Foundation president and CEO. “Now it’s time for action. Foundations that value information as an essential element for healthy community advancement – whether neighborhood, town, city or region – will find us a willing partner. By inviting the initiatives to come from the communities, we expect them to be both relevant to local needs and varied.”

The challenge is open to all community foundations. Knight plans to consider ideas from other foundations whose focus is local, geographically defined communities, similar to community foundations.

The Knight Community Information Challenge involves a two-step process. Community foundations can visit www.informationneeds.org to propose a project in 200 words or less between June 30 and Sept. 15. Those selected to submit full proposals will be notified within a week of receipt, and full proposals will be due Oct. 15. Each full proposal will be required to provide matching funds.

The initiative is the fourth in a series of Media Innovation Initiatives created by Knight to address the information needs of communities in a democracy. They include:

• The Knight News Challenge, funding ideas that use digital media to deliver news and information to geographically defined communities (www.newschallenge.org);
• The Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy, in partnership with the Aspen Institute, will propose public policy that will facilitate meeting those needs (www.knightcomm.org); and
• The Knight Center for Digital Excellence, a nonprofit consultancy, helps communities across the United States ensure digital access for every citizen (www.knightcenter.info).

If you want community foundation funding for local journalism projects, Newton says do your homework. Look at this Knight Foundation site and look specifically at the survey Knight did with community foundations. Then go pay your foundation a visit.

This from a Knight press release:

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Aspen Institute today announced the launch of the Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy.

The high-level Knight Commission will look into whether the information needs of 21st century American citizens and communities are being met and make recommendations for public policy and private initiatives that will help better meet community information needs.

“The Commission will look at the issues of information, news and society from the perspective of communities across the nation,” said Alberto Ibargüen, Knight Foundation president and CEO. “We want to assess their information needs, then take a snapshot to see how they are being met. The Commission will offer creative recommendations to improve democratic problem-solving at the local level through more and better engagement with relevant news and information.”

Ibargüen and Aspen Institute president and CEO Walter Isaacson are pleased that the Knight Commission will be chaired by:

• Theodore B. Olson, former Solicitor General of the United States
• Marissa Mayer, vice president of search products and user experience for Google

“We begin this inquiry with a totally open mind,” said Olson, a Washington, D.C., attorney. “We want to understand the state of local communities’ access to the information that citizens need for self-governance. We are open to input from all sources.”

 ”The methods of receiving information have changed dramatically over the past several years, and will likely differ community to community,” said Mayer, a West Coast software engineer. “The Knight Commission will assess these information needs and will propose potential solutions.”

The new Knight Commission will include at least a dozen other respected representatives of journalism, communities and policy. The Commission’s executive director is Peter Shane, Davis Chair in Law at the Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University. He will direct the Commission’s research and writing, and will be advised by public feedback as well as that from scholars, journalists and policymakers. The Knight Commission, funded by $2.3 million in Knight Foundation grants, will meet in public throughout the year and will operate out of the Aspen Institute Communications and Society Program.

Ibargüen and Isaacson, both having strong backgrounds in news, are ex-officio members.

“The business models we’ve relied on to provide news and information to our communities are stressed and changing. New platforms offer an astounding array of choices, creating the most connected world we have ever known with the greatest volume of available data,” said Ibargüen, a longtime newspaper executive and former PBS chairman who also chairs the Newseum board. “But as those choices proliferate and as those virtual communities connect us globally, the need for local, reliable, contextual civic information remains and, I believe, is being met less and less effectively.

“We live in a democratic society built on the premise of an informed electorate” yet the very structure on which that democracy is built “the local election held in a geographically defined community is more and more an uninformed decision. That concerns us.”…

In the late 1940s, the Hutchins Commission addressed the free press, calling for journalism to be presented “in a context that gives it meaning.” In the 1960s, the Kerner Commission, in its inquiry into the causes of racial tensions, called on the mainstream media to reflect all of America. Also 40 years ago, the Carnegie Commission recommended transforming educational television into “public broadcasting,” leading to the nation’s current system of noncommercial public service broadcasting. This Commission will take a comprehensive look at information needs of communities, building on similar successful commissions in the past.

 Three-Year Grant Offers a Chance for 30 Innovators Across the Globe

To Foster Social Change Through Journalism

MIAMI – As journalism reckons with an uncertain future, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation announced today a partnership with Ashoka: Innovators for the Public, the world’s largest community of leading social entrepreneurs, to create a new cadre of Ashoka Journalism Fellows.

During the next three years, Ashoka and Knight will name 30 Ashoka Journalism Fellows worldwide. These Fellows will receive three-year stipends allowing them to focus full-time on their efforts to provide lasting, visible, systemic change in the way journalism works or the way society sees journalism. They will start new journalism organizations, create new kinds of news outlets, develop new models for investigative reporting, and campaign for public understanding of freedom of expression – launching projects designed to be expanded and copied. They also will become lifelong members of the Ashoka community, sharing and learning with more than 2,000 Ashoka Fellows working around the world in the fields of learning/youth development, the environment, health, human rights, economic development and civic engagement.

“Journalism must confront new media forms and technologies, uneven degrees of professionalism, threats to freedom of the press, and rapidly changing economics,” said Diana Wells, president of Ashoka. “At this moment, journalism needs social entrepreneurs who turn challenges into opportunities. This partnership will help us identify new models for journalism that create transformative social impact.”

The Knight partnership, funded by a $3 million, three-year grant, will build on Ashoka’s 26-year history of support for social entrepreneurs as levers for social change. In recent years, Ashoka Fellows have included several journalists, such as Paulo Lima, who created Magazine Viração, written by young people for young people. In Indonesia, Ashoka Fellow Tosca Santoso’s public radio news agency introduces public debate on important national issues to new audiences.

Ashoka looks for Fellows who have creative, new pattern-changing ideas, entrepreneurial quality and ethical fiber. Through a rigorous nominating and selection process, Ashoka will elect outstanding individuals with ideas that will have far-reaching impact on the field and practice of journalism, using Knight Foundation’s definition of good journalism – the fair, accurate contextual search for truth.

“After five years, an astonishing 97 percent of Ashoka’s social entrepreneurs are still working on the projects they have created. Nine out of 10 of their ideas have been copied by others and half of them have changed public policy,” said Eric Newton, vice president of journalism programs at Knight Foundation. “We need to apply that kind of success record to the field of journalism.”

At least five Fellows will be chosen by Aug. 31, 2008, at least 10 Fellows in 2009 and the remainder, as many as 15, in 2010. In addition to the stipends, which vary in amount according to location and personal needs, the Ashoka Fellows may receive support in business planning, communication, public relations and legal advice, as well as more in-depth technical support. Ashoka also will connect them to other Fellows as peer mentors; provide volunteers and interns; help increase visibility of their work through communications and media expertise; and help them collaborate with other journalism Fellows.

Ashoka

Ashoka: Innovators for the Public is a global community of more than 2,000 social entrepreneurs in 60 countries who deliver innovative solutions to social problems. In 2008, Ashoka will launch programs in Israel and Russia. Ashoka’s global fellowship is privately financed by individuals, venture networks, foundations, and leading business entrepreneurs. To learn more, visit Ashoka.

Knight FoundationThe John S. and James L. Knight Foundation promotes journalism excellence worldwide and invests in the vitality of U.S. communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers. To learn more, visit www.knightfoundation.org <http://www.knightfoundation.org/> .