The last two decades have brought fundamental and increasingly rapid change in the way information is created, published and disseminated. Communities have noticed a decline in the breadth, quality and relevance of traditional local news sources and investigative reporting. Commercial radio has almost entirely exited local news reporting and both printed daily newspaper readership and broadcast television news viewership have decreased dramatically. This massive media upheaval is endangering sources of information that have been essential to communities in a democracy.

At the same time, however, new models, tools and technologies are emerging at a staggering pace. Communities are experiencing the rise of new information sources, including online news sites from traditional news organizations and citizen journalists, as well as Twitter feeds from local political candidates and social networking websites for local PTA members. In general, citizens are increasingly involved in the co-creation of this information. These developments hold great promise, even if they are not yet fully understood or adopted in communities. The online public appears to be participating and engaging in new ways, with individuals moving from passive consumers of information to active contributors to information. In theory, at least, underserved communities can have a voice in ways previously unimagined. Perhaps best of all, the cost to create and publish information continues to drop. Yet news consumers in this new sea of information risk relying on sources that are neither credible nor comprehensive, and participation in online media is unevenly distributed, with marginalized populations continuing to lose out.

Amidst this sea-change scenario one thing is clear – the future community information landscape will critically impact the health and vitality of our communities.

This brief explores how, through the Knight Community Information Challenge, community and place-based foundations are incorporating community information needs into their work for the benefit both of their communities and their own strategies and missions.