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Informed and engaged communities.

Media Innovation Contest
MEDIA INNOVATION INITIATIVE
Knight News Challenge: Contest in which media innovators compete with digital ideas.
National Media Policy: A high-level commis-
sion explores society’s information needs.
Universal Access: Knight Foundation advances universal access through community projects.
Local Information Experiments: Community foundations join Knight in a matching challenge.
Carnegie-Knight Initiative: Seeks to transform journalism education in the U.S.
World Wide Web Foundation: Envisions the Web as humanity connected by technology.
A strategy of experimentation is at the core of the initiative. Read more.

Now at Knight

November Candidates Answer Questions Sent by Video

Voters in 11 states are now able to directly ask candidates about the issues they care most about – and have them answered – through 10Questions.com, an interactive online platform created by the Personal Democracy Forum. Funded by Knight Foundation, the site helps inform voters on critical issues ahead of the November elections. Read more.

What We Fund

Journalism Program

We’re leading journalism in the digital era. More.

Communities Program

We’re investing in the Knight communities:

Resident Communities: Places in which a program director is your first point of contact.
Non-Resident Communities: Places where a community foundation is your point of contact.

National Program

We’re seeking innovators and their big ideas. More.

Arts Program

The Arts Program supports innovative and high-quality cultural projects that enrich and engage Knight communities. More.

Recent Videos

Final Edition: Journalism According to John S. Knight

A biography of John S. Knight that illustrates the changing perspective of the newspaper journalism in the face of digital news delivery.

Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy

Commission co-chairs Marissa Mayer and Ted Olson

Innovative Macon partnership aims to improve college's link to downtown

Knight Program Director Beverly Blake introduces the College Hill Alliance in Macon, Ga. The goal is to restore the social and physical fabric between the Mercer campus and downtown Macon, while adding economic value.

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Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown Joins World Wide Web Foundation’s Board of Directors (Yesterday at 4:11 PM)
The World Wide Web Foundation (Web Foundation) today announced that it appointed former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to serve on its Board of Directors. Throughout the world, the Web Foundation leads programs that empower people to use the Web to nurture local economies and improve access to education and information. As a Board member, [...] (Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:11:34 +0000)More...
New Data Visualization Tool for Journalists Created by Knight Professor (Wednesday at 1:55 PM)
Sarah Cohen, the Knight Professor of the Practice of Journalism and Public Policy at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy, figured there had to be an easier way for journalists to organize their notes on chronological events. “Time and place are two of the most important aspects in stories,” Cohen said. “Most reporters I [...] (Wed, 01 Sep 2010 13:55:16 +0000)More...
Digital Media Program Launched in India (Thu., August 26, 2:55 PM)
The International Multimedia Institute opened its doors to an inaugural class of 30 students this summer.  The new school for journalists is located in New Delhi, but participants come from all over India, as well as Bhutan and Liberia. Students will learn the fundamentals of journalism and digital media skills such as podcasting and web [...] (Thu, 26 Aug 2010 14:55:00 +0000)More...
New Knight Initiative Funds Ideas That Use Technology to Inspire Community Action (Tue., August 24, 3:00 PM)
These days, as people use Facebook to support Haiti, end hunger, and stand behind other causes, social networks have become the place to make a statement. Yet those clicks don’t necessarily turn into a movement to better communities. At least not yet. With Knight Foundation’s focus on fostering informed and engaged communities, we started looking [...] (Tue, 24 Aug 2010 15:00:57 +0000)More...
Knight-Funded Project Puts Voters in the Driver's Seat in November Elections (Mon., August 23, 3:20 PM)
This post by Micah Sifrey was originally published on TechPresident.com, the Personal Democracy Forum's blog. Three years ago, we had a modest idea here at Personal Democracy Forum: that the internet could be a vehicle for transforming the presidential debates then underway. Instead of relying solely on journalists to determine the questions being asked of [...] (Mon, 23 Aug 2010 15:20:39 +0000)More...
Knight News Challenge Winner Ushahidi Being Used to Monitor Elections in Brazil (Mon., August 23, 1:14 PM)
This post was originally published by the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas blog. During the wave of violence in Kenya in 2008, that stemmed from conflicts among rival political factions, a group of friends created a system in which persons in various locations could send and share, via the Internet, news about attacks [...] (Mon, 23 Aug 2010 13:14:07 +0000)More...
Student Journalists' Work Featured in the National Press (Wed., August 18, 3:45 PM)
Student News21 teams are getting their work published in national papers.  Outlets like the Washington Post and New York Times are running stories, photos and video from the students who are part of the program revitalizing journalism education at 12 universities. Just last week, Columbia’s News21 team’s work was featured in the Washington Post.  Fellows produced [...] (Wed, 18 Aug 2010 15:45:17 +0000)More...
Watch As Opera Hits the Farmers Market in a "Random Act of Culture" (Wed., August 18, 2:23 PM)
Strolling through a farmers market at lunchtime in Charlotte is always a treat. Sniffing the just-picked peaches, choosing a perfect ruby red tomato - those are usually the highlights. My visit to Atherton Market was made even better Tuesday when opera filled the air. Yes, I knew a musical surprise was planned as part of [...] (Wed, 18 Aug 2010 14:23:28 +0000)More...
#FOCAS10 Engages Policy Makers, Media, Biz Execs and Leaders to Explore Info Needs of Communities (Tue., August 17, 5:36 PM)
This week at the Aspen Institute, there is a robust discussion exploring recommendations of the Knight Commission on Information Needs of Communities. The 2010 FOCAS, News Cities: The Next Generation of Healthy Informed Communities forum, will take place through August 18 and aims to arrive at specific action steps to help communities "improve their information [...] (Tue, 17 Aug 2010 17:36:11 +0000)More...
Miami-Dade Group Aims to Increase Local Internet Access (Tue., August 17, 2:09 PM)
This entry was written by James E. Osteen, Jr. executive director of the Miami-Dade Broadband Coalition. The Miami-Dade Broadband Coalition officially opened its doors with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Aug. 11. The launch was the result of more than three years of planning with stakeholders in education, healthcare, government, non-profits and the private sector. [...] (Tue, 17 Aug 2010 14:09:40 +0000)More...