As a way to foster discussion and action, Knight Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation of New York have funded 11 universities to delve into the recommendations of the Federal Communications Commission’s landmark report, “Information Needs of Communities: The Changing Media Landscape in a Broadband Age.”

Inspired by the findings of the Knight Commission, the FCC’s report focuses on practical ways that public policy can improve the environment for local accountability journalism, which has suffered significant cutbacks in recent years.

“The FCC’s study will be either a catalyst for improving the flow of news and information in communities, or a book that sits on a shelf,” said Eric Newton, senior adviser to the president at Knight Foundation.

Knight hopes that America’s journalism schools will lead the debate on the report’s recommendations and that the news community will make its views known, Newton said.

Knight and Carnegie dedicated more than $800,000 to help implement the report’s recommendations, including this series and other projects that examine how tax law is affecting nonprofit media, how to develop reliable metrics on media philanthropy, and more. The two also have covened 12 univerisites over the past five years to improve journalism education and raise the profiles and contributions of journalism school deans, directors and students in the ongoing public debate over the future of journalism.

From Outsourcing to Innovation

by U.C. Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism Investigative Reporting Program (March 2012)

This report explores how partnerships between commercial media and nonprofit journalism can reach a broader audience and have a stronger impact. The report reveals how these new joint ventures can sustain a nonprofit media organization’s bottom line.

In an era of newsroom cutbacks and a decline in local news, cross-platform media partnerships offer hope for a beleaguered industry.