Aug. 21, 2012 – The winners of the Knight News Challenge: Data, which seeks breakthrough ideas to accelerate media innovation, will be announced Sept. 20 at the 2012 Online News Association Conference (ONA12) in San Francisco.

The winners will also give Ignite-style talks about their projects in a live-streamed keynote at 1 p.m. Saturday Sept. 22.

The Online News Association is the world’s largest membership organization of digital journalists. Twitter CEO Dick Costolo, Director of Columbia’s Tow Digital Center Emily Bell and journalist Jose Antonio Vargas will be giving keynote addresses. More than 1,300 digital journalists are expected to convene at ONA12.

 The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation is the nation’s leading funder of journalism and media innovation. Winners of the Knight News Challenge receive a share of $5 million in funding and support from Knight’s network of influential peers and advisors to help advance their ideas.

 Knight Foundation is running the News Challenge three times in 2012 to better mirror the pace of innovation. The data challenge sought projects that make the large amounts of information produced each day available, understandable and actionable. Winners of the first challenge, focused on networks, were announced in June. The Knight News Challenge: Mobile will accept applications Aug. 29 – Sept. 10.

Learn more at newschallenge.org.

About Knight Foundation

Knight Foundation supports transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts. We believe that democracy thrives when people and communities are informed and engaged. For more, visit www.knightfoundation.org.

About the Online News Association

The Online News Association is the world’s largest association of digital journalists. ONA’s mission is to inspire innovation and excellence among journalists to better serve the public. The membership includes news writers, producers, designers, editors, bloggers, developers, photographers, educators, students and others who produce news for and support digital delivery systems. ONA also hosts the annual Online News Association conference and administers the Online Journalism Awards.

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Contacts:

Andrew Sherry, Vice President/Communications, (305) 908-2677, [email protected]

Jane McDonnell, Director of  the Online News Association, (646) 290-2677  [email protected]