This high-level Knight Commission will look into whether the information needs of 21st century American citizens and communities are being met and make recommendations for public policy and private initiatives that will help better meet those needs.

The Knight Foundation and the Council on Foundations co-presented this groundbreaking convening for funders to explore the community impacts of media changes brought on by the "digital revolution," as well as the increased opportunities for civic involvement and betterment. The project generated an excellent website, full of numerous resources.

By Hye-Jung Park, Media Justice Fund Program Officer, and Charlene Allen, Deputy Director of the Funding Exchange:

During the last year we've joined U.S. delegations to attend Freedom of Expression workshops in Buenos Aires, Argentina; Nairobi, Kenya; and Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

The Benton Foundation issued the "fact check" one-pager, More than Rhetoric Needed, in response to the Bush Administration's late January report claiming success in meeting the President's broadband deployment goals.

January 27, 2008 - Tia Lessin and Carl Deal’s Trouble the Water has been selected for top honors in the Documentary Competition of U.S. films at the Sundance Film Festival. Lessin was one of six filmmakers who received an OSI Katrina Media Fellowship in 2006, enabling her to complete and distribute Trouble the Water.

On January 8, 2008, Open Society Institute (OSI) announced the launch of a multimedia website documenting the social and economic toll of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. With numerous never-before-seen photos, articles, radio clips, and videos, the website calls for increased attention to the larger issues of race, poverty, and government neglect that were laid bare by the storms.

The latest issue of the Foundation's twice-yearly magazine, Ford Reports, features a broad range of efforts to strengthen public interest values in our ever-more-dynamic media world.