[MGP-Forum Announce] Seeking Knight Foundation News Challenge Grant Input

[Steven Clift]

This is based on a post to my online consultation and e-participation 
online community of practice. See: 
http://groups.dowire.org/r/topic/100946


Have folks taken a look at the Knight Foundation's 21st Century News 
Challenge site?

 http://www.newschallenge.org

The deadline is Dec. 31 for letters of inquiry.  

What I am trying to sort out is what "news" really means to them and 
how the kinds of citizen-based interactive "conversations" that E-
Democracy.Org hosts might fit. 

In short does "news" have to the be the central starting point or as 
Eric Newton in his audio message says can we be focused first on 
"smart new ways to help communities talk to each other, understand 
each other, in the words of Jack Knight, be able to act in their own 
true interests" and come at this from the community perspective 
toward the "news" world.

Any thoughts? Any contacts who can help?

Cheers,
Steven Clift
E-Democracy.Org

P.S. I've drafted up a list of over 20 *potential* letter of inquiry 
topics that. What do folks think would be most interesting and 
"newsy" enough:

http://www.e-democracy.org/wiki/Knight_Foundation_Grants

 3 Leadership - Issues Forum Expansion
 4 Leadership - Sharing Online Facilitation Strategies with Citizen 
Media Efforts
 5 Leadership - Citizen Media Online Community of Practice via 
Democracies Online
 6 Leadership - Evolving from FOI to IDR Laws - Information 
Dissemination Requirements
 7 Leadership - MyBallot.Net - Open Source for Local Ballot, Polling 
Place Look-up, Add Talking Ballot Feature
 8 Leadership - Local E-Debate Platform and Guide
 9 Field Test - Local Democracy Tune-Up
 10 Pilot - Citizen Survey
 11 Pilot - Local Mashup
 12 Pilot - Multilingual Neighborhood Forum
 13 Pilot - Adapting Open Source E-mail Contact Management for 
Citizen Media Efforts
 14 Pilot - Community Knowledge Sharing - Cross Community Q and A
 15 Trial - Glocalising Online Participation
 16 Trial - Democaster - Democracy Webcasting and Media Partners
 17 Trial - Online Townhall Event
 18 Trial - Neighborhood News Tools for Neighborhood "Life" Forums
 19 Prototype - Local Solutions Exchange on Public Priorities
 20 Prototype - Public Meeting Notifier
 21 Prototype - Local Politics Content Monitor
 22 Open - Online U.S. Presidential E-Debate
 23 Open - Open Source GroupServer Enhancements for Developing 
Democracies 
 24 Open - The Virtual Shopping Mall? The Impact of Ownership and 
Governance on Public Perceptions and Use of Local Interactive Media
 25 Open - Media and E-Democracy Index - Media Responsiveness Online


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