The Knight News Challenge:
How it works, what succeeds, and why that
matters for the shaping of journalism innovation
Seth C. Lewis
School of Journalism & Mass Communication
University of Minnesota – Twin Cities
@SethCLewis
International Symposium on Online Journalism; Austin, TX; April 2, 2011

the contest …
and its content

RQ1:
relationship between proposal
features and advancing?

RQ2:
participatory media features
and advancing in the contest?

methods

profile of ‘08-09 proposals
Type Number Percentage
Applicants 4,369 89%
Finalists 535 11%
Winners 25 less than 1%
Total 4,929

profile of ‘08-09 proposals
- 54% organizations (vs. individuals)
- 2% newspapers
- 64% were not media/journalists

major predictors of advancing (or not)

major predictors of advancing (or not)

major predictors of advancing (or not)

major predictors of advancing (or not)

major predictors of advancing (or not)

major predictors of advancing (or not)

takeaways:
news, info, tech
participation
opening boundaries

thanks.
@SethCLewis