Knight News Challenge: You invent it. We fund it!

The Knight News Challenge awards innovative ideas that use digital experiments to transform community news

Why focus on local news? Because democracies are organized by geography. You don't vote for the other town’s mayor. You vote for the one who would lead your town. And what is the future of a nation, if it is not the future of each of its counties, cities and towns?

Put another way: In the 20^th century, the Knight brothers' newspapers informed and inspired communities. We'd like to help those who would play that role in the 21^st century, providing the news citizens need to be good citizens.

First-year winners won awards ranging from $15,000 to $5 million.

They included:

• Open-source software that will let citizens find public information about their neighborhoods.
• Young journalists covering the 2008 presidential election on cell phones, for cell phones.
• Online nonfiction games that inform and engage players about current events.

Anyone worldwide can apply at www.newschallenge.org.