By: E&P Staff A Kennesaw State University journalism scholar?s community-funded online news media idea will soon take shape thanks to a grant from the Harnisch Family Foundation and a collaboration with a Minnesota-based online news community.
The $51,000 grant will fund a trial run "representative journalism" which envisions communities funding journalists who deliver Web-based, local and topical news.
Leonard Witt, KSU?s Robert D. Fowler Distinguished Chair in Communication, recently began sharing his idea on his blog (PJNet.org). His writings caught the attention of Ruth Ann Harnisch, the foundation?s president and a former journalist who encouraged Witt and helped advance the concept.
Witt is launching the project in Northfield, Minn., on "Locally Grown," an interactive blog and podcast with a large following of area residents and community leaders.
Also joining Witt in the test project will be Chris Peck, editor of The Memphis (Tenn.) Commercial Appeal, who will act as a part-time editorial consultant. William Densmore, founder of the Media Giraffe project at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, will provide administrative support and oversight.
If the Minnesota project succeeds, Witt envisions a representative journalism center that will be a full-service hub enabling groups, institutions, communities or individuals to underwrite their own journalists.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here