From Eric Newton, VP/Journalism, Knight Foundation:

What's cool about News 21 -- the investigative reporting project now in its fourth year at'top U.S. journalism schools -- is not just that the students are producing Changing America stories worthy of being used by the nation's largest newspaper group.' It's that they are also inventing new digital storytelling methods while doing so, including a new kind of video player, talking bar charts, moving infographics -- and then sharing what they have learned.' These students are showing that'advancing journalism excellence is as challenging a pursuit as any other.'They are learning to'connect the data and events of today's'news to the issues and ideas modern people need to understand to run their communities and their lives. 'On the agenda for the future of the project, headquartered at Arizona State: adding'web pages' to universities set up their own future of news projects, and to'help news managers use the content and technology developed by the students -- and tracking where all the alumni have ended up.

From Eric Newton, VP/Journalism Program, Knight Foundation:

Much well-deserved buzz over the Reconstruction of American Journalism, a new report by Leonard Downie, Jr., and Michael Schudson. To its credit, Columbia Journalism Review is reporting even critical reaction. Harvard's Nieman Journalism Lab calls the report "a welcome palate cleanser."

The report supports easier nonprofit designation for news organizations, more foundation money for journalism, changing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting into the Corporation for Public Media, more news organizations based at universities, an FCC Fund for Local News and greater government transparency. The document credits Knight Foundation's work in media innovation. (More on foundation support for news can be found here, for example, and more on open government can be found here.)

On Oct. 2, the Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy issued its own report with 15 recommendations for improving the flow of news and information to communities. Topping that list: universal broadband access, digital literacy and greater news innovation in both the public and private sector.

If you've been following this blog, you probably already know Knight Foundation is giving $3.3 million to libraries in 12 communities to transform them into digital centers for their communities. We often think of libraries as being good places to find books, and they are. But in the 21st Century, they're serving many other functions as well, and this grant is about expanding those functions.

Here are five ways these grants will help communities:

• They'll create and expand wifi access.Increased bandwidth and new hardware in communities such as Wichita, Kan., and Myrtle Beach, S.C., will allow libraries to better meet a vastly expanding need for Internet access. Wichita's public library system has seen demand for Internet access increase by 25 percent (pdf) over the last year alone.


• They'll allow the libraries to purchase new equipment. In places such as Tallahassee, Fla., and Conway, S.C., money from these grants will cover the costs of updated equipment, including dozens of laptops for patrons to use all throughout the library. These additional capacities will greatly increase the ability of the library to serve patrons. In Tallahassee, for example, the new computing power is expected to mean an additional 380,000 hours of Internet access a year.


• They'll bring the capabilities of the library to under-served communities. Libraries are more than physical buildings. In places such as Lexington, Ky.,, Knight's grants will go towards the creation of mobile computing labs, enabling libraries to reach rural areas, retirement complexes and neighborhood centers.


• They'll help people find jobs.Lacking Internet access to search for jobs and correspond with prospective employers can leave job-seekers at a profound disadvantage. To help provide relief from a severe recession, Knight's grants will allow libraries to beef up their services for the unemployed. In Charlotte, S.C., for example, our grant will fund the creation of a Job Help Center, projected to assist 22,500 residents in its first year of existence. As a reminder of how powerful this assistance can be, don't miss this video featuring a patron of the library system in Charlotte.


• They'll help train people on using digital technologies. In many communities, the local library is the chief hub for continuing education. As digital skills become increasingly vital for citizens to actively participate in their democracy, these grants will allow libraries to give patrons critical training in digital technologies.