Someone from the Knight Foundation emailed me, and I thought it sounded relevant enough to pass on to you – here’s the gist of it:
If you have an innovative media technology idea, you might be able to get funding from the Knight News Challenge contest.
Run by the Knight Foundation, the grant competition awards up to $5 million annually for innovative projects that use digital technology to transform the way communities send, receive and make use of news and information.
More info can be found here: http://newschallenge.org. The site includes application information, as well as details about past winners.
This year’s application deadline is December 1. The News Challenge is looking for applications in four categories: mobile, authenticity, sustainability and community. Â All projects must make use of digital technology to distribute news in the public interest.
The contest is open to anyone in the world.
A simple description of the project is all you need to apply. Submit a brief pitch to http://newschallenge.org. If the reviewers like it, you’ll be asked to submit a full proposal later.
If you have questions you can a) reference the FAQ: http://www.newschallenge.org/frequently-asked-questions, or; b) check the archived chat transcript here: http://www.newschallenge.org/1026-live (another live chat will be held on November 18 at 1:30 EST).
You can follow Knight Foundation at http://twitter.com/knightfdn. The News Challenge Twitter hashtag is #knc