• Article

    Following FCC report, new projects will focus on ways public policy can improve local news and information flows

    Published October 3, 2011 by

      Earlier this year, the Federal Communications Commission released a landmark report on community information needs that was the most comprehensive national look at media policy in a generation. Today, in an effort to ensure that the important public policy recommendations in the report become fully realized, Knight Foundation announced several new projects to highlight ways public policy improvements can in turn improve local news and information flows. In one of the new efforts, Steven Waldman, the report’s author, will become a visiting senior media policy scholar at Columbia University. There, Waldman will study emerging media issues and advocate for the report’s recommendations to help build pressure for action. The foundation also will fund a series of events and research papers hosted by universities to encourage debate and feedback around the report’s major recommendations. Another project announced is a convening of the National Association of State Public Affairs Networks at the Newseum to develop a plan to create “state C-Spans” in all 50 states.
  • Article

    Arts Alliance benefits from sales of arty grocery bags

    Published October 3, 2011 by

    By Jessie Raynor, Akron Arts Alliance Steve Albrecht, president of a locally-owned chain of 16 grocery stores called Acme Fresh Markets, recently presented the Akron Area Arts Alliance with a $1,500 donation -- a percentage of the sales of new reusable shopping bags. Decorated with colorful original artwork created by...
  • Article

    Reports from the Field:

    Published October 3, 2011 by

    Dancer Silas Riener is currently on tour with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company’s Legacy Tour, a Knight Arts granteee. Today he checks in with a report from Westbeth By Silas Riener, Merce Cunningham Dance Company There are, by my count, 8 remaining rehearsal days for the Merce Cunningham Dance Company...
  • Article

    MOMIX: The reviews are in

    Published October 3, 2011 by

    By Jennifer Thomas, Knight Foundation's Program Director/Akron MOMIX’s performance on Saturday night in Akron, OH, of Botanica was a huge success. 1,900 people were in attendance for an incredible performance of dance, props and optical illusions. The Knight Foundation’s $15,000 grant allowed DanceCleveland to engage about 300 new audience members...
  • Article

    Plaza Muse has Diane Hughes and so much more

    Published October 3, 2011 by

    The Plaza Muse, located at Central Avenue and Hawthorne Lane in Charlotte, is a brand new gallery with studio spaces as well as opportunities for gatherings. This gray, two-story old home has been transformed, given new life and is now filled with many original, diverse works of art. What is...
  • Article

    Knight Arts Challenge Philadelphia – now accepting applications

    Published October 3, 2011 by

    Crossposted from Knight Arts blog Here we go!  The second year of the Knight Arts Challenge Philadelphia launched today, and we’re ready to hear your best ideas for the city’s vibrant arts scene!  Applications are now being accepted right here through Oct. 31. We believe the arts can engage and enrich communities and that your ideas can make an impact.  That’s why the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation is investing $9 million in innovative arts ideas. To date, 36 ideas have been awarded $2.7 million. What can these ideas look like?  The possibilities are endless.  No idea is too large or too small, as long as it follows three basic rules: Your idea is about the arts. Your project takes place in or benefits Philadelphia. You find other funding to match the Knight Foundation grant (within a year). Over the course of the next four weeks, we’ll be counting down to the deadline, posting a series of tips and answers to common questions, and showcasing some of last year’s amazing winners to get you inspired. We hope you'll take advantage and follow along right here. For more on this year’s contest, check out the press release here.  You can also connect with us on Facebook and Twitter and ask questions using #AskKightArts. We look forward to another year of great ideas!
  • Article

    Student-led News21 program publishes major food safety investigation in Washington Post, MSNBC.com

    Published October 3, 2011 by

    This week, student journalists from five universities participating in the Carnegie-Knight News 21 program published a major national investigation into food safety in America. The investigation is getting prominent play in The Washington Post and on MSNBC.com. The series covers the dangers posed by seafood, how hundreds of millions of pounds of contaminated meat is approved for sale in the U.S and how foodborne illnesses sicken 48 million Americans per year, among other topics. In its coverage, an article in The Washington Post says: "A look at how the nation’s food safety system operates in the case of salmonella-infected poultry shows how a combination of industry practices and gaps in government oversight results in a fractured effort that leaves the ultimate responsibility for safe food with the consumer."
  • Article

    Behind the scenes with Apps for Communities

    Published September 30, 2011 by

    Crossposted from Apps for Communities blog Behind the Scenes with Apps for Communities So, who's behind the 50+ apps that we've received so far? Curious to know some details? Apps are coming in from communities across the country — from Native American reservations and cities in California, Georgia, Oregon, Wisconsin, Rhode Island, New York, Washington, and Michigan. What are the apps about? They're for accessing information to help with traffic and physical road condition alerts, diabetes, tribal issues, rental property openings, expanding opportunity for low-income kids, pediatric services, emergency use of hashtags, student records, homeless services, greening cities like Detroit, and much more. The apps are made by men and women, young and old, from teens to elders, local leaders, community organizers, students, new media fellows, engineers, and developers. We're pleased to inform you that every-day Americans are getting involved with the Apps for Communities Challenge and are putting on developer hats to help their communities. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski spoke earlier this week at an event at LivingSocial in Washington, DC and painted the broader picture on apps (download his full speech here): "Our 'apps economy' is envy of the world. With U.S. software developers leading the way, there are now more than 500,000 mobile applications available, and apps sales are projected to approach $38 billion by 2015. It wasn’t long ago when the mobile apps economy didn’t exist at all. Mobile, local, and real-time are each big trends, creating jobs and opportunity here now and with huge potential for the future."