Ashoka has announced its first set of News Entrepreneurs, in an experiment funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The group of 13 innovators includes Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia; Sandy Close, founder of New American Media, which has created a network of ethnic news sites; and Sasa Vucinic, managing director of the Media Development Loan Fund, an investment fund for independent news outlets.

Others come from Sri Lanka, Germany, Senegal, Nepal, Pakistan, France, Venezuela and Slovakia.

Ashoka’s announcement says the fellowship program “operates at the nexus of news, knowledge and social innovation.”

Knight Foundation is interested approaching the news industry’s problems from a variety of directions, including learning what a social entrepreneur can teach about starting and sustaining a news site or product.

What do you think about entrepreneurs and the future of journalism?

— Gary Kebbel, Journalism Program Director, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation