Representatives of the community foundations who won grants through the Knight Community Information Challenge speak briefly about why they decided to get involved in funding their news and information projects.

Today, Knight Foundation announced the third-round winners of the Knight Community Information Challenge grants program, which helps community and place-based foundations support news and information projects.

The winning ideas are from foundations large and small, urban and rural. As I looked over them, I was struck by the vast variety of information needs these foundations are helping to meet.

I’ll share just a few.

-””” The New York Community Trust is working to strengthen the city’s ethnic media so that immigrants’ voices are heard more broadly;

-””” The Hawaii Community Foundation is funding a student news network to be broadcast on PBS Hawaii, the only free signal for many in the state;

-””” The Greater New Orleans Foundation is supporting an online news site, so that it can more powerfully tell the story of the recovery from Hurricane Katrina.

-””” The Tulsa Community Foundation is helping to create reports on women’s issues,’ including Oklahoma’s high female incarceration rates.

All 19 winners are part of a growing movement of community and place-based foundations funding news and information projects.

Knight Foundation will again accept applications for the challenge, beginning in January.

Find out more about how you can help meet your community’s information needs by visiting www.informationneeds.org.

Trabian Shorters Vice President for Communities Knight Foundation Read the full release here.