News for Digital Journalists

February 09, 2012

Knight News Challenge 2.0: applications open Feb. 27

For five years the original Knight News Challenge stimulated innovation in news, information, and community engagement. Today the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation unveiled the revamped program…

The new Knight News Challenge will comprise three smaller, more focused competitions. Each Challenge will last 8-10 weeks, beginning to end.

The first Challenge opens for applications Feb. 27, deadline March 17. First-round winners will be announced in June 18 at MIT.
The second contest (an open competition, casting a wide net for new ideas) will launch later this spring.
The dates and topic of the third contest have not yet been determined.

This year’s first News Challenge will focus on the concept of networks. John Bracken, director of journalism and media innovation for the Knight Foundation, explained what Knight means by networks:

“In the course of our work, we often come across proposals to ‘build a Facebook that connects X and Y.’ We want to move away from that. There are a lot of vibrant networks and platforms, on- and off-line, that can be used to connect us with the news and information we need to make decisions about our lives. This challenge will not fund new networks. Rather, we’re asking you to describe ways you might use existing platforms to drive innovation in media and journalism.”