Jose Zamora is a Journalism Program Associate at Knight Foundation

2007 Knight News Challenge winner, Citizen Media Law Project, announced today the public launch of its Online Media Legal Network (OMLN), a new pro bono initiative that connects lawyers and law school clinics from across the country with online journalists and digital media creators who need legal help.

OMLN is accepting applications for legal assistance from online publishers and media creators who meet the network's criteria of viability, adherence to journalistic standards, innovation, independence, original reporting, and public interest. For details on these criteria, see the OMLN FAQ.

You can also read a post about the new network at the Nieman Journalism Lab.

From Marly Falcon, Knight Foundation contributing blogger:

The World Press Freedom Committee points out that only 21 percent of the world's people live in countries with a fully free press.

Cuba is on the list of countries without a free press. The Cuban government has restrained press freedom, the right to free expression of ideas and citizens' access to information without government censorship, according to the Inter American Press Association's report from the Resolution of the 65th General Assembly.

There have been at least 102 cases of repression against independent journalists reported throughout the country since April.' The number of journalists in Cuban jails increased to 27 with sentences ranging from one to 28 years. Several of the imprisoned journalists are suffering from serious health problems, but the government refuses to allow a special release for those prisoners.

There is currently a growing movement of bloggers going against state control on information and use of the Internet, which is still restricted for the Cuban people.

About 30 personal blogs with information about the situation in Cuba are being produced. However, almost none can be viewed from Cuba because of increased government surveillance and the blocking of those pages. The content is updated by collaborators in the United States, Latin America, and Europe.

It's been reported that the government is attacking independent journalists and bloggers. On Nov. 6, police captured and beat blogger Yoani Sanchez and other independent bloggers in the street while they were trying to attend a peaceful demonstration in Havana.

The IAPA, according to the General Assembly report, demands the unconditional release of jailed journalists and government respect for the work of independent journalists.

It demands the suspension of repression against independent bloggers.

It condemns the intensification of government control of the Internet and the deliberate blocking of Web sites that disseminate information and ideas that do not conform to the line of the government media.

It condemns the recent detention and violent beating by officers of Yoani Sanchez and a group of independent bloggers.

Let it be known that these occurrences are not just happening in Cuba. Impunity is a worldwide issue. Click here to learn more.

In 2000, Knight Foundation began investing $19 million towards revitalizing Overtown, a once-vibrant area in Miami that had been hit hard in recent decades. Seven years later, the Foundation took an unusual step. As well as conducting its own grant impact assessments, Knight hired a reporter to investigate how the Foundation's investments performed and produce a public report, without pulling any punches.

The resulting report by Andre Oliver is a sobering picture of the challenges met in trying to transform the community. And the report itself is still making an impact. Most recently, a column in the Miami Herald this week about the continued setbacks in Overtown cited the report in its analysis:

In 2000, the Miami-based Knight Foundation made a major effort to transform Overtown with a $19 million commitment to 32 national and community organizations.

 

Two years ago, the foundation published an analysis of its effort, showing mixed results.

Among the main obstacles, according to the report: a lack of a common vision in the community and a void in community leadership and collaboration.

"The role of the city and the county in Overtown's development remains critical, but has been challenging,'' the report stated.

The Overtown report is part of a series of reporter's analyses funded by Knight. Each of them encapsulates valuable lessons about how our grants play out in the communities they affect. And they offer a candid picture of both our setbacks and our successes. If you want to get a sense of what Knight considers when making a grant, this might be a good place to start.