MIT has announced that Joichi Ito has been selected as the next director of Knight grantee, MIT Media Lab.

In its statement, MIT recognizes Ito, 44, “as one of the world’s leading thinkers and writers on innovation, global technology policy, and the role of the Internet in transforming society.”

Ito has been involved with Knight Foundation as a reviewer in the Knight News Challenge, the foundation’s media innovation contest. In that capacity he helped foundation staff winnow down a field of more than 2,000 applicants to less than two dozens finalists.

Ito is co-founder and board chair (and previously served as CEO) of Creative Commons, the basis for the intellectual property rules in the Knight News Challenge contest.