Posted by Bud on November 05, 2009 at 18:06:08:
November 05, 2009
Chicago Community Trust awards $500,000 to help emerging sources for news
A dozen recipients will divvy up a half-million dollars in Community News Matters Award money, part of the Chicago Communuty Trust's effort to boost new sources of local news and information.
The biggest checks are going to the Better Government Association and Chicago Youth Voices Networks, with each given $60,000.
The Community Trust, which fielded 86 requests for a total of $5.7 million, said the awards to nonprofit groups, schools, for profit enterprises and one individual were intended to get information into and out of communities where it's most needed.
The BGA wants to train voluntary monitors to report on government meetings for a new Web site. Chicago Youth Voices aims to have hundreds of young people explore and report on how the economy affects their peers.
Other winners include newly announced New York Times partner Chicago News Cooperative ($50,000), Columbia College Chicago ($45,000) for a project involving the Chicago Tribune's Chicago Now site, Loyola University Chicago ($45,000), the Community Media Workshop ($45,000), Beachwood Media ($35,000), Gapers Block Media ($35,000), Brad Flora ($35,000), Northwestern University ($30,000), South Suburban Publishing ($30,000) and the Chicago Association of Hispanic Journalists ($30,000).
“The Chicago area has become a real laboratory for development of the future for community news and information,” Terry Mazany, the Community Trust's president and chief executive, said in a statement.
Grants will be funded in December. More money is expected to be awarded next year.
Funded jointly by the Chicago Community Trust and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Community News Matters program was sparked by a lead grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation’s Knight Community Information Challenge.
The awards follow a June report, commissioned by the Community Trust with $25,000 of a $250,000 grant from the Knight Foundation, to look at alternative news sources in recognition of the economic pressures wreaking havoc on traditional news outlets. Using six criteria -- three of which were self-reported -- "The New News" decided the Chicago area's top alternative news site was Chi-Town Daily News, a nonprofit that folded in September.
The Communuty Trust's description of its 2009 Community News Matters award recipients and their projects follows:
Projects designed to improve the flow of information in high-need communities
Columbia College Chicago
Nonprofit/For Profit
$45,000
For a Columbia College/Chicago Tribune collaboration using student and professional journalists to cover government meetings, businesses, churches and other institutions in Austin, with content distributed via a new Web site (www.austintalks.com) and the Chicago Tribune's Chicago Now blog site (www.chicagonow.com), a mobile edition, a newsletter and text messaging
Gapers Block Media, LLC
For Profit Business
$35,000
To increase the amount of neighborhood-based, original local coverage on Gapers Block (http://gapersblock.com), with priority given to stories about underserved communities and issues that affect them
Loyola University Chicago (School of Communication)
Nonprofit
$45,000
For a partnership between Loyola and Benito Juarez Community Academy to train high school and college journalists to cover Pilsen, with content distributed via a new Web site, "Adentro de Pilsen" (Inside Pilsen), a Spanish language news magazine and (potentially) hand-held mobile devices
South Suburban Publishing LLC
For Profit Business
$30,000
To train and equip citizen journalists to cover news in Markham for a new Web site (www.southsnews.com), using smartphone video reporting and traditional online newsgathering techniques
Projects designed to strengthen information sharing, learning and unique perspectives by and for specific groups
Chicago Association of Hispanic Journalists
Nonprofit
$30,000
For a new Web site to promote the work of Chicago-area Latino journalists, to assign freelance reporters to fill gaps in coverage about issues of interest to the area's Latino community and to train and mentor student and citizen journalists
Chicago Youth Voices Network
Nonprofit
$60,000
To engage several hundred youth journalists in twelve local youth media programs to explore and report on how Chicago teens are faring in the economic recovery, using online polls and social media reporting
Community Media Workshop
Nonprofit
$45,000 total
1. $15,000 to help build and develop a strong, healthy online news ecosystem in the Chicago area through continued tracking, convening, reporting, collaboration with and education of the sector
2. $30,000 to launch (in collaboration with Northwestern University Medill School professor Jack Doppelt) a reporting, story sharing and translation service for ethnic media and their audiences, building on CMW's ethnic media work and Medill's "Immigrant Connect Chicago" program
Projects designed to create and build new business models
Chicago News Cooperative
Nonprofit (to become L3C)
$50,000
To support development of a new L3C cooperative business model providing enterprising journalistic coverage of the Chicago area using various Web, print and broadcast platforms, including a new Web site called "The Chicago Scoop"
Northwestern University (Medill School)
Nonprofit
$30,000
For graduate students to help two local community news ventures develop sustainable business models, with in-depth analysis, prototype development and recommendations for business strategy, audience, content design, delivery, marketing and revenue
Project designed to support investigative journalism and civic engagement
Better Government Association
Nonprofit
$60,000
To train volunteer "reporter monitors" to report on government meetings downtown and in Chicago's neighborhoods for a new "Good Government Virtual Town Hall" Web site
Projects designed to improve technology platforms and aggregation of news and information
Beachwood Media Company
For Profit Business
$35,000
To help the Beachwood Reporter (www.beachwoodreporter.com) create a sustainable business model through strategic enhancements in technology and content
Brad Flora
Individual
$35,000
To upgrade software used by The Windy Citizen (www.windycitizen.com) to enable the site to expand and better integrate with other social media platforms
(Phil Rosenthal, Chicago Tribune)